Uh Oh! 2: Electric Boogaloo
by Fujiko Kuwabara
Summary: The long awaited sequel to "Uh Oh!" With the twins are starting school, Hiei & Shizuru seem to be having problems with their relationship. Can the two work things out? Rating just incase. And yeah, cliche title but whatever - Enjoy!:P
1. Chapter 1

So, I wrote "Uh, Oh!" and tons of people liked it. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a sequel - I just put that as the end because I needed a way to end the story - but then I thought it over and people wanted a sequel. So, here it is, you guys! Enjoy it!:P And a special big thanks to my Beta Reader, My blue rose - you're amazingly awesome, girl!:P

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The old tan Honda Accord pulled into the parking lot of the school, rumbling softly. Rain pitter-pattered on the roof of the car as Shizuru turned the car off and looked back at the twins sitting in the backseat. She smiled at their expressions; Sumi's nervous and scared and Haru's bored and uninterested as he looked out the window.

"Okay, sweethearts, we're here."

"I don't want to go, mommy." Sumi said, fiddling with the hem of her pink dress. "I really don't want to go."

"Neither do I." Haru said, sighing as he turned his head to Shizuru. "Mom, do we really have to go?"

"Yes, you do." Shizuru answered, moving her hair out of her face. "Relax, it'll be fine. It's kindergarten! You guys are going to make new friends, you guys are going to have so much fun."

"Hn." Hiei and Haru said in unison.

Shizuru rolled her eyes at her son and boyfriend, smiling at her daughter who smiled back nervously. Sumi was such a sweet quiet shy little girl who was slightly afraid of new situations like this.

Reluctantly the twins unbuckled, zipped up their slick raincoats and put on their hoods then opened their car doors, stepping out into the rain. Shizuru looked at Hiei, who sat next to her in the passenger seat. He looked out the windshield and watched the wipers flip occasionally, clearing the rain from the window for only a split second.

"You wanna go in with me and say good bye?" She asked.

Hiei shrugged, not taking his eyes off the window. They turned to the passenger side door, hearing something tap against it. Hiei opened the door to see the sleek black raincoat clad little boy he called his son smiling at him.

"You're coming in with us, right dad?" Haru asked, his crimson eyes wide and innocent.

Hiei looked at his son for a moment before unbuckling and getting out of the car with a huff. Haru had a way of making Hiei do anything for him, just as Sumi had a way of making their uncle Kazuma doing anything for her.

Haru smiled up at Hiei, his eyes suddenly hidden by the hood of his raincoat. He reached up and grabbed Hiei's hand, following after Shizuru and Sumi.

Sumi lifted her white galoshes covered feet and stamped on puddles, giggling as she and Shizuru made their way into the school. Shizuru stopped in front of the door of the kindergarten classroom, looking back at Hiei and Haru as they waited for them. Hiei looked around the inside of the school, his eyebrows quirked and lips pursed. Haru looked up at his dad, his hood falling off of his head and revealing his auburn flame-shaped hair.

Shizuru stifled a giggle as she watched Haru ask Hiei questions that he had asked his father already a thousand times before. Hiei would just answered with two words or less, his voice flat and uninterested as always.

As the two flame-shaped haired father and son approached the mother and daughter, Sumi put her hand on the doorknob of the classroom and turned it, opening it cautiously.

The room was bright and colorful; raincoats hung on hooks in the corner of the room by the door with bright cartoon lunchboxes underneath. Children ran around, laughing and playing. Nametags decorated the little tables with tiny navy blue chairs tucked in neatly.

Sumi smiled upon seeing all the other children; the only other child she knew and played with was Haru. Shizuru crouched down and helped Sumi take her white raincoat and matching galoshes off.

"Now, don't cling to your brother today." Shizuru warned with a smile. "Make tons of new friends, honey."

"I will, mommy."

Haru kicked his black galoshes off and pulled his raincoat off over his head then hung it up by Sumi's. He looked up at Hiei and reached his arms up to him, opening and closing his hands. Hiei picked his son up and hugged him.

"Have a good day, son." Hiei gave his son a small smile as he put him back down. "Be good."

Haru giggled then ran to Shizuru to give her a hug, crossing Sumi as she ran to Hiei with her arms up in the same way Haru's were just a moment ago. Hiei scooped his daughter up and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to giggle. Hiei repeated what he had told Haru then set her down, patting her on the head.

A young woman strode over to the small family, giving them a wide friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm Miss Ito." She said cheerfully, holding her hand out to Shizuru.

"It's very nice to meet you." Shizuru said, shaking Miss Ito's hand. "I'm Shizuru and this is Hiei."

Hiei looked Miss Ito up and down quickly before giving her a civil half smile. Miss Ito kept her friendly smile on her face when she looked down at the twins, who were looking up at her.

"And who are these two?"

"This is Haru and this is Sumi." Shizuru answered, putting a hand atop of the child's head when she said their names. "They're a little nervous about starting school."

"I'm not nervous!" Haru said, looking up at his mother. "I just don't want to be here."

Hiei smirked and stifled a laugh while Shizuru and Miss Ito chuckled lightly. Miss Ito crouched down to get a better look at the twins.

"There are a lot of children who are nervous on their first day of school." She said, smiling. "C'mon, I'll show you guys around."

Haru grabbed a handful of the fabric of Hiei's pants and looked up at him with a pleading look on his face.

"Dad, do I have to stay here?"

"It's only for a few hours, sweetie." Miss Ito said, standing up. She glanced at her watch and gasped. "Oh, goodness! I should start class. If you two want to stay for a few minutes until your kids get comfortable, you can."

"Oh, I have to go to work." Shizuru glanced at Hiei. "You have anything planned for today? Think you could stay with the twins for a bit?"

Hiei opened his mouth to protest when Haru and Sumi grabbed his hands, hopping up and down.

"Stay with us, daddy!" Sumi pleaded, a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, stay for a while, dad!"

Hiei looked from his children to Shizuru, who just smiled and gave him a half shrug.

"You're on your own, babe." She said, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder.

"Stay, dad, stay!" Haru chanted.

"Yeah, just for a few minutes, daddy!"

Hiei opened his mouth again then closed it again. He did this a few times which made him resemble a goldfish. He made a sound between a growl and an audible sigh; his children took that as a sound of defeat and cheered. Shizuru kissed Hiei on the temple then said her goodbyes to her little family before leaving the classroom. Hiei let the twins drag him to a table where Miss Ito said their nametags were.

Miss Ito pulled a tiny navy blue chair over to the table and put it in between Haru and Sumi's for Hiei. Hiei grumbled and sat down in between his children, who smiled at him happily.

Hiei tuned the teacher out as she spoke about who she was and what they would be learning that year. He picked at his fingernails while children went around, saying their names, their age and their favorite color.

"I'm Sumi Kuwabara!" Sumi chirped. "I'm five and my favorite colors are pink and white."

"I'm Haru Kuwabara." Haru said, fiddling with a pencil on the table as he sunk into his chair. "I'm five and my favorite colors are black and red."

"And who is this man sitting in between you two?" Miss Ito said, smiling at Hiei and his children.

"That's one big five year old!" Some chubby boy said from the table next to Haru and Sumi's.

Hiei's eye twitched when children started laughing. Haru sighed and rolled his eyes at the laughing children and sat up.

"This is our daddy!" Sumi said, patting Hiei on the shoulder.

"Tell us your name, age and favorite color." Miss Ito said, her cheery smile on her face.

"I'm . . . Hiei . . ." He felt like he was in an AA meeting. "And my favorite color is black."

"And how old are you, Mr. Kuwabara?"

Hiei's eye twitched again when he heard Miss Ito call him 'Mr. Kuwabara'. He would have killed himself if he were actually a Kuwabara. And what was he supposed to say about his age? He was almost a hundred years old! Should he be honest or lie and say he was Shizuru's age? That was a good plan, except he didn't know how old Shizuru was. He knew that that was bad. He decided to tell the truth and gulped.

"I'm almost a hundred."

He was shocked and yet a little relieved when all the children started laughing, even Miss Ito had a hand over her mouth to cover a smile. Haru and Sumi looked at Hiei then looked at each other and Hiei swore he saw a look of slight embarrassment on their faces.

Ten minutes later after all the students were introduced, Miss Ito put out blank white sheets of paper and a pack of crayons in front of each student.

"Draw something that makes you happy!" Miss Ito chirped, walking around the room. "Like a pet or your family or something like Disneyland!"

Hiei sat in between his children, watching the little children around them hunched over their papers and scribbling furiously with crayons. He looked from Haru to Sumi, wondering what they were coloring. He straightened up, realizing that they were distracted, and scooted his tiny chair back. He watched them for a moment to see if they would move and wonder what he was doing. They sat quietly, scribbling away and not paying any attention to their father.

Hiei stood and glanced at Miss Ito sitting at her desk. She smiled at him and nodded politely, telling him to have a good day in a soft voice. He replied with his usual "Hn" before leaving the classroom. He flitted from the school, making his way back to the apartment.

He opened the door to see Kuwabara and Yusuke sitting on the couch, playing some video game. They paid no attention to him, not even acknowledging his presence, just went on playing their game.

"Shouldn't you two be at work?" Hiei sneered, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the green car pass the pink car on the screen.

"Day off." They muttered in unison.

"Hn."

"Sit down, Hiei." Yusuke said, not taking his eyes off the television. "Join us, yo."

"I'm not playing."

"Good, we don't want you to." Kuwabara retorted, elbowing Yusuke in the side.

Hiei flopped down on the recliner by the couch, leaning back into the plush upholstery. He watched the game for a moment before slapping the armrests of the recliner and standing up.

"Life is just too damn short." He mumbled as he left the apartment.

Shizuru spun the chair around to face the mirror; smiling at the hairstyle she had given the young man. The young man gasped, looking at the frosted spiked blonde hair he now had in the mirror.

"So?" Shizuru bit her lip. "What do you think?"

"Oh, my god! Shizuru, you're amazing!" He said, standing and hugging her. "From now on, I am only coming to you when I have hair emergencies."

She laughed and let the young man hug her. A phone rang in the backroom and a fellow hairstylist of Shizuru's ran to answer it. Shizuru spoke to the young man for a moment before the hairstylist interrupted her.

"Uhm, Shizuru?" She said softly, holding her hand over the phone. "There's a woman on the phone named Miss Ito, she says it's important."

Shizuru rushed to the hairstylist, taking the phone from her and putting it to her own ear.

"Hello?" She said in a worried voice. She gasped. "Oh, my God. I am so sorry, I will be right there."

Shizuru ran from the salon then jumped into her car, her hands fumbling with her key. Finally, she got the key into the ignition and started her car.

Hiei slumped in the green recliner again, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara play some new game. It had been a few hours since he had left the twins and he wondered how they were. He knew that their class would be getting out soon and that made a small smile cross his face. He missed them, actually; the apartment seemed too quiet without them bouncing around and playing. He thought about surprising them after their school got out and take them to the park. He really missed them.

The door opened and Shizuru stood there, breathing heavily through her nose, which was what she did when she was incredibly angry. Haru came in after her, hanging his head. Sumi followed in after her brother, her head cocked to the side with a confused look on her face. She smiled at Yusuke and Kuwabara and plopped down in between them on the couch.

"Do you know what your son did today?" Shizuru asked, addressing Hiei with her hands on her hips.

"Colored?" Hiei answered, letting his head fall back into the plush fabric of the recliner.

Shizuru made a face at her lover then looked down at Haru, who stood next to her with his head still hanging.

"Tell him what you did, Haru." Shizuru said. "Tell your father what you did in school today."

Haru lifted his head up and looked at Hiei with a sad pleading look on his face.

"I hit a kid."

Yusuke and Kuwabara paused their game and turned their attention to Haru.

"No kiddin'?" Yusuke said, smirking. "What did he do, take your crayons?"

"Knock it off, Yusuke. That's not just what you did, Haru. Tell your father what you did."

"I punched him in the nose but only 'cause he was being mean to me! He was making fun of me and I –"

"You made his nose bleed." Shizuru looked from Haru to Hiei. "You'll never guess what he did."

"Damn it, what happened?" Hiei snapped, sitting up.

"I set my teacher's desk on fire." Haru said, looking down at his feet.

The room was silent as Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara stared wide-eyed at Haru. Yusuke and Kuwabara started snickering.

"How did you do that, son?" Hiei asked, resting his arms on his knees.

"I dunno." Haru mumbled sadly, picking at his fingers. "It just happened. Miss Ito put me in time-out while the other kids got to play outside."

"He had to sit on a stool in a corner of a room with no toys or anything for _five whole minutes_!" Sumi piped up as she looked from Kuwabara to Yusuke.

"I was just sitting there, just looking at her desk and thinking about unfair she was being and then all of a sudden, her desk was in flames." Haru continued. "I think Miss Ito hates me now."

"I don't think so!" Sumi chirped, bouncing a little. "She didn't know if Haru really did it or not."

Shizuru seemed to calm down a bit, her breathing going back to normal. She pointed down the hall, looking down at Haru.

"Go to your room." She stated. "You are in time out –"

"Again? But mommy!" Haru pleaded, snapping his head up to look at her with wide eyes. He only called her 'mommy' when he wanted to get out of something.

"You need to think about what you did. Tomorrow, you will apologize to your teacher and to that boy you punched. Your father will come in and talk to you in a few minutes then I'll come in and talk to you. After that, we'll see if you can come out of your room."

"But _mommy_!" Haru whined, throwing his arms up in the air.

"No 'buts', Haru. Go to your room." Shizuru pointed her finger at Haru, warning him. "And don't even _think_ about setting anything on fire."

Haru opened and closed his mouth for a moment before turning to Hiei. Hiei seemed to be lost in thought, not even noticing that his son was looking at him. Haru let out a frustrated whine then ran to his room, pouting. Shizuru let out a deep sigh then went to the door.

"Where're you going?" Kuwabara asked.

"I need a cigarette." She said flatly before leaving the apartment.

Haru sat between the small spot between the headboard of his bed and the wall. This is was his hiding place. He sniffled and wiped his face with the back of his shirtsleeve. He hadn't meant to set the desk on fire. It really was an accident. He didn't understand why his mother had gotten so upset at him; he had apologized to her profusely.

He tensed as his bedroom door opened, trying to squish himself into the corner of the wall. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face, hearing the door close then footsteps coming towards him.

Hiei squatted by the empty space between the headboard of his son's bed and the wall, looking at tiny auburn haired clone.

"Haru." Hiei said, softly yet sternly.

Haru scuttled as best as he could to turn his back on his father. Hiei half smiled to himself then reached out to touch his son's shoulder. Haru tensed again, letting Hiei turn him around. Haru wrapped his arms around his knees tightly, burying his face in his knees. Hiei grabbed Haru by his foot and pulled him out of the space.

"Haru, stop it." Hiei said firmly.

"I didn't do anything!" Haru whined, lifting his head up.

"Yes, you did." Hiei answered, flopping down and sitting cross-legged. "Somehow, what you did was wrong. I really don't see why, but your mother . . ."

Hiei trailed off, he didn't want to make Shizuru out to be the bad guy. He sighed and pulled Haru closer to him. Haru let go of his legs and climbed into Hiei's lap, resting his head against his father's chest.

"They don't like me, dad." Haru said softly, playing with the fabric of Hiei's shirt between his fingers. "I don't wanna go back."

"You have to." Hiei said, picking lint from his son's hair. "You have twelve more years of this school crap, sixteen if you go to college after high school."

"But what about Uncle Yusuke?"

"He dropped out in Junior High, he had more important things to do." Hiei was silent a moment then gave Haru a light thump on the head. "Don't get any ideas."

"But what if I have more important things to do, too?"

"Like what?" Hiei chuckled at Haru's silence. "I thought so."

"Dad . . . why are Sumi and me so different?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're not like the other kids . . ." Haru trailed off, curling up into a ball as he cuddled up against Hiei. "We're really different."

Hiei closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. He opened his eyes to see Haru looking up at him with big innocent worried ruby eyes that he shared with Hiei.

"Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hiei sighed again and pulled his son closer. "I have to tell you something."

Hiei proceeded to tell Haru his life story, leaving out the extra violent parts that he knew would give his son nightmares. Haru stared up at Hiei, absorbing all of his father's words and nodding every so often.

When Hiei finished talking, he sighed deeply through his nose and looked at Haru, who was looking up at him with a look of wonder, amazement and adoration on his face.

"Are you like a superhero, dad?" Haru asked after a moment.

Hiei half-smiled and ruffled Haru's hair then hugged him.

"Something like that." He muttered.

"Dad, is my timeout over?"

Hiei blinked and thought it over. Shizuru never said how long his timeout was supposed to be. He shrugged and stood with the little boy in arms.

"I guess so."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so I totally forgot to add Kurama in the first chapter, but don't you worry your pretty lil' Kurama-lovin' heads! He's in this one, if only for bit.:P Enjoy, you guys.

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Shizuru unlocked the door to the apartment and turned the knob. She had been gone for about twenty minutes. After five years, she did really need a cigarette. But she hadn't smoked. She had just jogged around the block a few times to get rid of that craving. Smoking really was a disgusting habit.

She opened the door to see Kuwabara and Yusuke sitting in front of the television and watching some 1970's Kung Fu movie, Sumi lay sprawled on the couch, snoring softly with her leg dangling off the couch. Hiei rocked a little in the recliner, Haru sitting on his lap. Everyone, with the exception of Sumi, turned his head towards the door upon hearing it open.

"What's he doing out of his room?" Shizuru asked, pointing to Haru. "I was going to talk to him."

"You were gone for almost a half hour," Hiei answered. "I didn't think that he should have been alone in his room that long."

Shizuru sighed, putting her hands on her hips. Her gaze fell from Hiei's face to Haru's.

"Go back to your room, Haru."

"But why?" Haru snuggled against Hiei. "I was in there a long time, mom."

"Go."

Haru stared at Shizuru as if he didn't understand what she was trying to tell him. She straightened her back and narrowed her eyes slightly. Hiei gave Haru a pat on the back, nudging him.

"Go, Haru." He said softly.

Haru hopped from Hiei's lap then made his way back to his room. Shizuru watched him, moving only her eyes until she saw him close his bedroom door behind him. She turned back to Hiei.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She said, faking a smile.

"Go ahead." He said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alone." She jerked her head in the direction of their bedroom. "Now?"

Hiei rolled his eyes and got up, grumbling to himself as he followed Shizuru to their room. He could hear Yusuke and Kuwabara snickering. He closed the bedroom door behind him and leaned against it, avoiding Shizuru's glare.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked softly. "Why did you let him out of their room?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" Hiei retorted. "Was I supposed to leave him in there for an hour?"

"I thought you'd be sort of a strict parent, Hiei."

"Hn."

"Don't start that, Hiei, I'm serious." She sat down on the edge of their bed and crossed her legs. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell him what he did was wrong?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell him to –"

"Not do it again? Yes, Shizuru, I did."

"Did you really or did you just talk to him about something completely different?"

Hiei was silent for a moment as he looked at his feet. Shizuru sighed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.

"What did you talk to him about?"

"He asked me why he and his sister were so different and I told him."

Shizuru's eyes widened and Hiei rolled his eyes, waving away Shizuru's thought with a flick of his wrist.

"Don't worry, I left out the gory violent stuff."

The two were quiet for a moment, just staring at each other. Shizuru stood up then kissed Hiei on the cheek. She turned to the door and was about to open it when Hiei grabbed her by the wrist, turning her around. He smirked at her.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, his eyes sparkling. "We've been together five years and you kiss me on the cheek?"

He pulled her to him and put his arms around her, standing on the balls of his toes to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. Shizuru smiled when he pulled away from her, his hands on his hips.

"I love you." She said softly.

"Love you, too." He smirked.

She opened the door to see two blurs running away. She rolled her eyes at Kuwabara and Yusuke; they really hadn't changed since they were fourteen. She tapped with her knuckles on the twins' bedroom door then opened it, hearing scuffling inside. Haru sat in the middle of the room, cross-legged, looking up at her with wide eyes. A Barbie was in his hands.

"Hey, kiddo." Shizuru smiled at him, closing the door behind her. "What're you doing with your sister's doll?"

"I wasn't playing with it," He sputtered. "I was gonna rip it's head off."

"Don't you think you've been in enough trouble for today?"

Haru put the Barbie down, pushing it back towards the pink dollhouse. Shizuru sat down next to him, picking up a stuffed green giraffe from the floor.

"You're not going to set anymore fires in the classroom, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you really sorry for what you did?"

"I said I was a bajillion times!" He said; sounding flustered.

She laughed, fiddling with the neck of the giraffe.

"I really am sorry, mom."

Haru got up onto his knees and walked over to his mother, cupping her face in his tiny hands. His big round crimson eyes looked so sad.

"I didn't mean to, really. And I'm gonna tell that boy I'm sorry tomorrow, I promise." He said softly. "Don't be mad at me anymore, okay?"

"I'm not mad at you, sweetie." She pulled him into a hug, kissing his forehead. "Just promise you won't do anything like that again, okay?"

"Okay, mom, I promise." He pulled away and looked her in the eye. "C'I be out of timeout now?"

Sumi jerked awake, sitting up from the spot on the couch were she had fallen asleep. She rested her back against the arm of the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. The room was dimly lit and the television was playing some fighting movie that she didn't find interesting.

"Oh, you're up."

Sumi looked up to see Kurama standing in the entranceway of the kitchen, a juice box in his hand. She smiled when she saw him and hopped off the couch to run to him. He scooped her up in one arm and let her hug his head. She kissed him on the cheek, pushing his hair away from his face.

"Hi, Kurama." She said sweetly. "Where'd everybody go?"

"Well, your parents went grocery shopping and they took Haru with them. Kazuma and Yusuke went out for movies."

"Is Botan here?" She chirped, looking around.

"Yes, I am!" Botan exclaimed happily as she came out of the bathroom. "Hello, sweetheart!"

Sumi held her arms out to Botan who gladly took her away from Kurama, wide smiles on the girls' faces.

"Wow, Sumi. You're getting pretty big." Botan giggled. "I don't think I'll be able to carry you anymore."

Botan flopped down onto the couch, holding Sumi in her arms as if she were still a baby. The little girl snuggled into Botan, letting the older woman play with her wavy raven tresses. Kurama sat down next to Botan and picked up the remote, changing the channel.

"So, how was your first day of school?" Botan asked, winding a lock of Sumi's hair around her finger. "Tell me all about it."

Sumi rested her head on Botan's shoulder, sighing with a little smile on her face.

"Ooh, _Lifetime_!" Kurama gasped. "And the movie just started! And it's starring Valerie Bertinelli!"

Botan looked at Kurama who looked back at her.

"What?" Kurama cocked his head to the side. "I can be manly and watch Lifetime."

"Kurama, you're amazing. You're like the perfect match for any girl."

"Oh, stop." Kurama blushed slightly, waving a hand at Botan.

"Are you guys going to listen to me?" Sumi asked, looking from Botan to Kurama.

"Oh, of course, sweetheart."

"I painted a pony today. I made it pink; it's like a My Little Pony. Then this boy made fun of Haru then Haru punched him in the _nose_!"

"Oh, no!" Botan gasped, covering her mouth. "Was the boy okay?"

"His nose was _bleeding_ and Haru got in trouble. Then he set the teacher's desk on fire!"

"Just like his father." Kurama laughed, receiving a small jab in his side from Botan.

"Tell us about you, Sumi." Botan said, turning back to the little girl. "What else did you do today?"

Botan loved Sumi as if she were her own. It seemed that Haru got a lot of attention from the family, only because he was a little troublemaker and prankster and that made Hiei and Shizuru and almost everyone around them keep a close eye on him. Botan felt sorry for the girl for being treated like that and tried to pay more attention to her.

Sumi made a face as she thought then her eyes widened and she grinned.

"I made a new friend!" She said, bouncing. "Her name is Ai and she's really nice!"

"Really? Does she live near by? Maybe, you guys can hang out after school sometime."

"She said she lives near a high school or something."

"You should find out where she lives so you two play together on the weekends."

The door burst open and Kuwabara and Yusuke came in, chatting loudly and laughing obnoxiously. Kuwabara kicked the door closed behind him then made his way to the TV.

"All right, movie time!" Yusuke flopped down onto the recliner, kicking his feet up. "Hey, Botan. Hey, Kurama."

"Hello, Yusuke."

Kuwabara squatted down by the television, changing the channel and turning on the DVD player. Kurama gasped, sitting up.

"Hey, I was watching that!"

"It'll be on again some other time."

"Yeah, plus she dies in the end."

Everyone turned to stare at Yusuke, who looked back at them with a smirk on his face. He shrugged, shaking his head.

"What? I can't watch _Lifetime_?"

Outside, Shizuru slammed her car door as she glared at nothing. Haru hopped out of the car and followed after his mother, a McDonald's hot wheel car in his hand and cherry flavored Pop Rocks crackling in his mouth and turning his tongue red. He felt very guilty as he hung his head. His face was tearstained. She grabbed the grocery bags out of the backseat of the car then made her way to the door of the apartment.

_Haru slipped away from Shizuru and Hiei in the grocery store, sneaking into the candy isle. He grabbed a bag of candy and a pack of Pop Rocks, running off to find his parents._

"_Mom, can I get this?" He asked, showing Shizuru the candy._

"_No, you can't."_

_Shizuru turned away from him, picking out fresh vegetables. Haru dropped the candy into the cart and climbed in, being careful as to not squish the other groceries. Shizuru turned back to put the plastic bag of broccoli into the cart and stopped, seeing Haru sitting there._

"_Haru, I said no. Get out of the cart and put the candy back."_

"_But mom!" He whined._

"_Get out right now and put it back."_

_Haru got out of the cart and ran to Hiei, who stood at the poultry section poking at a chicken breast. Hiei looked down at his son, seeing the boy running towards him in the corner of his eye._

"_Dad, can I get this? Please?"_

_Haru looked up at his father, his eyes large and sad as his bottom lip protruded in a pout. Hiei smiled at Haru and patted him on the head._

"_Sure you can."_

_Haru smiled then ran back to the cart, tossing the candy back in. Shizuru reached in and grabbed it, looking at Haru._

"_I said no, Haru! Put it back now."_

"_Dad said I could, though!"_

_Shizuru looked from Haru to Hiei, who stared back at them. Shizuru made a 'come hither' motion with her finger, beckoning him. He rolled his eyes and walked over to his lover and son._

"_Did you tell him he could get this?"_

"_Yeah, so?"_

"_I told him that he couldn't."_

"_He didn't tell me that." Hiei looked at Haru, who looked down at his feet._

"_Can I just get the Pop Rocks?"_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

_Shizuru and Hiei spoke simultaneous. They looked at each other. Shizuru's eyes narrowed as she gripped the handle of the cart._

"_I said 'no'."_

"_It's not going to hurt him. Let him have it."_

"_Don't undermine my parenting, Hiei."_

"_I wasn't 'undermining' you. I just don't see what the big deal is, just let him have it."_

"_It'll spoil his dinner."_

"_Big deal, it's candy."_

"_Do you want to deal with a hyper five year old?"_

"_Can I just have these?" Haru lifted up the Pop Rocks._

"_No!" Shizuru said sternly. "Go put them away, now."_

_Haru flopped to the ground and thrashed about, crying. Shizuru covered her face with her hands, groaning as people began to stare at the five year old throwing a temper tantrum at her feet. Hiei picked Haru up, turning his head away from his son's flailing arms._

"_You can have the Pop Rocks," He said softly. "Just stop it."_

_Haru stopped suddenly, sniffling. Hiei put his son back down and looked at Shizuru, who narrowed her eyes at him. She pushed the cart along, walking away from them._

"_I can't believe you." She said during the ride home. "I told him 'no' and you went behind my back and told him 'yes'."_

"_Oh, not this again." Hiei grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Can't you just drop it? It just happened. It's over and done with, leave it alone."_

"_He needs to learn that he can't always get want he wants, Hiei."_

"_Oh, just shut up."_

_Shizuru hit the brakes hard, making Hiei jerk forward. Cars honked as they passed by, the drivers yelling out their windows at her. She glared at Hiei, gripping the steering wheel tightly in her hands._

"_Don't tell me to shut up, Hiei."_

_Haru sat in the back seat, watching his parents' fighting progress from petty name-calling and bickering to a shouting match. It was as if they had forgotten he was even there. He cocked his head to the side, listening to his parents yell at each other._

"_If you're gonna act like a bitch, then I'm leaving!" Hiei shouted at her, unbuckling._

"_Fine!" Shizuru yelled back as he opened the car door and jumped out. "Don't come home tonight!"_

"_I won't!" He screamed at her, slamming the door behind him._

"_You bastard!" She shouted at the passenger window, watching him flit off._

_She punched at the dashboard, her hair flying as she punched wildly. She stopped when she heard sniffling behind her. Her head snapped up and she remembered that Haru was sitting in the backseat. She turned to see him trying to hold back his tears._

"_Oh, honey." She said softly, putting a hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. It's okay, everything's okay now. Don't cry, baby."_

_Haru balled his hands into fists and rubbed at his eyes as he bawled and Shizuru tried to calm him down with smoothing words._

She fiddled with her keys, accidentally dropping them. She cursed under he breath then knocked on the door as best as she could with two big brown paper bags of groceries, hoping that someone inside would hear and open the door. Botan opened the door, her wide smile on her face. Her smile faded when she saw Shizuru standing there with an angry look on her face and Haru standing next to her with his head hanging. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she didn't see Hiei.

"Where's –"

"Excuse me, Botan. Heavy groceries."

Shizuru pushed passed her best friend, going into her apartment and into the kitchen. Haru sulked in after his mother, sniffling. He ignored everyone and went to his room, closing the door gently behind him.

Botan followed Shizuru into the kitchen to help her put away the groceries and hopefully find out what happened.

Everyone in the living room returned to their movie, their eyes glued to the screen.

"What's going on?" Botan asked; her voice hushed. "Where's Hiei?"

Shizuru slammed her hands onto the kitchen counter, her back towards Botan.

"We had a fight, a stupid one." She said, in an equally hushed voice. "Now he's not coming home tonight, okay? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Well, what happened?"

Shizuru turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at Botan. She ran her hands through her hair, breathing deeply to calm herself and keep tears from coming.

"We had a fight about candy!" She squeaked as tears began to fall. "I said Haru couldn't get any and then Hiei said he could and we just . . ."

Botan put her arms around Shizuru in a tight hug, patting her on the back. She began to rock her crying friend slowly, trying to calm her down.

"Don't worry." Botan said softly. "He'll be back tomorrow, he's just blowing off steam. He'll probably be here tomorrow when you get home from work and you two will make up and everything will be fine."

"Oh, God, Haru hates me." Shizuru mumbled. "He thinks I made Hiei leave and that he won't be coming back. He won't talk to me."

"Give him time, he's just like Hiei."

"Sis, you okay?"

Botan and Shizuru looked up to see Kuwabara standing there. Shizuru wiped her face and broke away from Botan. Before she could say anything, her brother went to her and gave her a big hug, lifting her off of her feet. She let out a little laugh and patted him on the back.

"What's going on, sis?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." She faked a smile. "Yeah, I know it's a lie, just take it. I don't want to talk about it."

Kuwabara chuckled then reached into one of the grocery bags, searching. He gasped, pulling out a box of My Little Pony fruit snacks.

"All right!" He cheered. "My Little Pony!"

Shizuru and Botan rolled their eyes at Kuwabara as he ran back into the living room and flopped back onto the couch, ripping open the box and handing a pack to Sumi.

"Don't eat all of those!" Shizuru said as she and Botan walked into the living room. "Those are for Sumi's lunches."

Sumi yawned and crawled into Kuwabara's lap, trying to feed him the My Little Pony snacks. Shizuru picked her daughter up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Time for bed, honey."

"But mommy, I'm not –" Sumi interrupted herself with a yawn.

"I think you are, sweetheart." Shizuru kissed her daughter's forehead again. "Say goodnight, everyone."

"Good night, everyone!" Yusuke, Kurama, Botan and Kuwabara said in unison.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, you guys." Shizuru stuck her tongue out at them and turned to carry her daughter to the room the twins shared.

Sumi waved sleepily at the members of her family over her mother's shoulders, blowing a kiss at them. They laughed and waved 'good night' to her.

Shizuru walked into her children's room and flipped on the light. She looked at Haru's bed, seeing him shift from under the blankets. She set Sumi down on her bed and helped her put her put on her pajamas. She sat down on the edge of Haru's bed and pulled back the blanket. Haru turned away from her, covering his face.

"Hey, kid." She rubbed his back. "You okay?"

"You made dad leave." He mumbled into his pillow.

"You made daddy leave?" Sumi asked, her eyes wide. "Is he coming back?"

"Yes, sweetheart. Mommy and daddy had a fight, but everything is okay now. He'll be back in the morning."

She turned back to Haru and tried to kiss him good night on the cheek, but he turned away from her. She looked at him, hurt. She covered him with the blanket then kissed Sumi and tucked her in before turning the light off and leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, so sorry that it's taking me a while to update. I was really bored and couldn't really think of anything, I guess, "productive" for this chapter and chapter four will be a _lot _better, I promise. I'm sure there are parts that drag on and I'm sorry. So, uhm . . . Enjoy?:P

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Shizuru groaned, rolling over and holding her head. She had just woken up with a pounding headache and had no idea why. She sat up, looking down at Hiei's empty side of the bed and sighed. Now, she knew why. The stupid fight they had the night before kept replaying in her mind right before she fell asleep.

She climbed out of bed and yanked open her closet door. She pulled out her clothes, halfheartedly tossing them onto her bed. She stopped when she heard the bedroom window open with a squeak. She turned to see Hiei standing there, his hand on the window and his foot on the sill. He looked like a deer in headlights when she stared at him.

"What're you doing?" She asked, closing the closet door. "Can't you use the door? Or did you forget your key?"

"Shut up." He said quickly, hopping inside the room. "I'm sorry about last night. I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. We both said some things we shouldn't have. Go wake up Haru, he didn't think you were coming back."

Hiei kicked off his shoes then crawled onto the bed, standing in front of Shizuru. She gave him a sad smile that disappeared faster than it appeared then turned to leave. Hiei grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her over to him. He pulled her into his arms and covered the side of her face and her neck with kisses. She smiled and pulled away from him.

"It's okay, Hiei, really."

He smirked at her, gently putting his hand on the side of her face. She smiled again, leaning into his touch as he rubbed her cheekbone with his thumb. He put his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him again and kissing her again. She slid her arms around him, holding him. He dipped her, pushing her onto the bed.

"What're you doing?" She laughed.

He ignored her and bit at her neck playfully, receiving a giggle from her. She put her hand on his chest, pushing him away from her. She sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Hiei sat behind her, kissing her neck.

"I don't have time for this, honey." She said softly, closing her eyes. "I have to get ready for work."

He let out a mock sympathetic groan, biting her earlobe. She laughed and stood up. She grabbed her bathrobe off of the back of her desk chair then blew a kiss at him. He pretended to catch it and put it on his cheek. She smiled at him then left the room. Hiei flopped back onto the bed, hearing the shower start.

"I'm disgusting." He said to himself, a half smile on his face.

He got up a minute later and left the room, going to his children's room. He opened the door and peered in, smiling to himself when he saw the sleeping twins in their beds. He stepped in quietly and sat down on the edge of Haru's bed. He poked at the little boy's face, watching his son's eyebrows furrow in his sleep.

"Don't . . ." Haru mumbled. "Quit it, Sumi."

Hiei smirked and poked at Haru again. In his sleep, Haru tried to smack at his father's hand, mumbling.

"Cut it out, Sumi."

In her bed across from Haru's, Sumi rolled over and faced the wall.

"I'm not doing anything." She said in her sleep.

Sleep talkers, his children were sleep talkers. Hiei wondered if it was genetics, Shizuru didn't do it but Kuwabara sure did. There were times when Kuwabara would shout in a high-pitched voice that didn't sound like his own when he was asleep.

"Leeches!"

Then he could kick the blankets off of him or unintentionally kick or punch the wall by his bed or whoever was sitting next to him, depending on where he had fallen asleep. Yusuke liked to mess with him when he was asleep, wetting toilet paper and scrunching it up and putting it on Kuwabara's face then shout with mock fear in his friend's ear.

"Oh, no! Kuwabara, look out! Leeches!"

As for the twins, one could have a full conversation with them. Sometimes Kurama could even have intelligent conversations with one or both of the twins if one or both had fallen asleep on the couch next to Kurama.

Hiei jabbed at his son's chubby cheek once more when the little boy sat up and swatted at him, Hiei's glare on his face. Haru's glare disappeared and was replaced by a wide happy grin.

"Dad!"

Hiei put a finger to his own lips, hushing his son. Haru covered his mouth with his hands, hiding a smile. Haru climbed out from under the blankets and sat in Hiei's lap, hugging him.

"You came back!" He whispered. "I thought you left for good, dad."

Hiei hugged his son, brushing the hair out of his face and kissing him on the forehead.

"Why would you think that?"

"You and mom were so mad at each other. It . . . scared me."

"Oh, god, son." Hiei hugged Haru again. "I'm so sorry you had to witness that last night."

Haru buried his face into Hiei's shirt. His body shook as he started to cry, remembering the night before. Hiei held his son in his arms and rocked him as if he were a baby, trying to calm him down. Haru looked up at Hiei, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Don't leave again, okay dad?" Haru said softly.

Hiei stared at his son for a moment then a smile broke out on his face. He nodded and patted Haru on the head.

"I won't leave again, Haru."

"Promise?"

"I promise that I won't leave again."

Hiei stood up with his son in the crook of his arm and the two left the room. He walked into the kitchen to see Kuwabara sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the back of the cereal box. Hiei sat Haru down on the chair next to Kuwabara. Kuwabara looked up and nodded a 'good morning' to Hiei, who nodded back. Since Hiei and Shizuru had gotten together, he and Kuwabara didn't hate each other as much. They still had little fights every once and a while, but they were (sort of) friends.

"Good morning, uncle Kazuma." Haru said, patting at the table with his hands as if it were a drum.

"Mornin', kid." Kuwabara handed the box to his nephew. "Can you help me with this maze?"

"Sure."

Hiei went to the cupboard and grabbed a bowl then handed it to Haru. Hiei opened the refrigerator and looked in, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Where's the milk?"

"It's out already."

Hiei stood up to see Kuwabara helping Haru pour the milk into his bowl. Haru pointed at something on the back of the box, scrunching his face in confusion.

"Is that supposed to be a penguin?"

Kuwabara took the box away from him and squinted, pulled the box away from his face and squinted again then brought the box close to his face again, still squinting.

"I think it's a lion, kid."

"But it's blue!"

Kuwabara shrugged then poured Haru some cereal then poured himself some more. He turned to Hiei, who held an apple in his hand, tossing it up and down and looking at it as if he wasn't sure if he really wanted to eat it or not.

"Hey, Hiei, what's this animal on the back of the box?"

Hiei walked over and snatched the box from Kuwabara's thick hands, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the crudely drawn cartoon animal on the back of the box.

"It's a whale." He said flatly, setting it back down in front of Kuwabara.

"No, it isn't!" Kuwabara and Haru said in unison.

"Yes, it is – look!" He pointed. "It even has a blow hole and it's spewing water!"

"That's its _mane_!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "It's a lion, you guys! I swear."

"It's not, manes go around the whole head, uncle Kazuma!"

Haru leaned over and grabbed the cereal box away from his father and uncle. He jabbed a finger at the animal, denting the cardboard.

"It's a penguin with a fruit hat on!"

"Kid, that is a mane. And why would a wild animal wear a fruit hat? It's a lion, it's sitting in a bush."

"That is not a lion, it's a whale."

"What would a whale be doing in a bush, Hiei?"

"That's not a bush, that's an ocean . . . with reeds."

"That's one tiny ocean, Hiei."

The front door opened and Yusuke stuck his head in, looking around the living room. He smiled, seeing his friends and Haru sitting in the kitchen. He walked into the apartment and was bombarded with incoherent yelling from the three sitting at the table. Kuwabara waved the open box of cereal in his hand, cereal falling out and dropping onto the floor as Hiei and Haru stood on either side of Kuwabara, pointing frantically at the box.

"Urameshi, what does this animal look like to you?" Kuwabara growled, standing up and shoving the box at him from across the table. "It's a damn lion, right?"

"A blue lion, Kuwabara?" Hiei said sarcastically.

"Yeah, it's Africa! It's imaginary!"

"Africa's not imaginary, Kuwabara."

"You know what I mean!"

Yusuke turned a table chair around and sat down, resting his arms on the back of the chair as he eyed the box. He tilted his head to the side and squinted, his face scrunching.

"Dude . . . it's a crocodile!"

"What!" The three across from him shouted.

"What's going on?"

The four looked towards the kitchen entranceway to see a white sleeper clad Sumi standing there, sleepily rubbing her eye with a fist and yawning. The room was quiet for a moment then the four started yelling, surprising Sumi and making her cry.

"Oh, princess, don't cry!" Kuwabara jumped up and scooped her up, bouncing her slightly in an attempt to calm her down.

"Are you guys mad at me?" she sniffled, looking up at Kuwabara when he sat back down.

"No, no, of course not! Here." Kuwabara snapped his fingers at Yusuke then held his hand out for the box of cereal.

Yusuke tossed the box at his big friend, making pieces of cereal fling out. Kuwabara caught it in one hand and pointed at the cartoon creature on the back.

"What kind of animal is that, Sumi?" He asked. "It's a lion, right?"

"No, Sumi! It's a whale!" Hiei stood behind Kuwabara and Sumi, jabbing at the box. "It's a whale, isn't it, honey?"

"No, sis! It's a penguin!" Haru piped up, crawling onto the kitchen table, the seat of his black sleeper sticking to a juice stain on the table.

"Can't you guys see that it's a frickin' crocodile?!" Yusuke snapped, slamming his hands onto the table as he stood up. "A crocodile! A crocodile, damn you!"

Sumi pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowing. She put her finger to her lips as if she were thinking hard. Kuwabara smiled down at her; his niece was so cute! She poked it and nodded her head with that goofy Kuwabara smile on her face. On her, it made her look absolutely adorable.

"It's a llama."

Everyone around her face faulted, their legs twitching in the air. They stood and the group began arguing, the twins yelling the loudest. Shizuru walked into the kitchen, brushing her hair up into a high ponytail. She stopped then took a few steps back, hearing and seeing everyone yell at each other.

"Hey!" She shouted, raising her voice above the others.

Everyone stopped and stared at Shizuru, standing in the entranceway of the kitchen with her hands on her hips. Yusuke leapt over the table, trying to snatch the box from Kuwabara. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at him, holding on tightly to the cereal box. Everyone else watched with wide eyes as the two played a sad game of tug-o-war with the cereal box, knowing full well what was going to happen. The box tore and the plastic bag inside was thrown up into the air and landed on the ground, cereal flying in every direction.

Yusuke ripped off the back of the box and scrambled over to Shizuru, ignoring her yelling for him and Kuwabara to clean up the mess.

"You guys have to do it before you leave!"

"Yeah, yeah. We will, but this is more important."

"What is it?"

He lifted the torn piece of cereal box up and pointed at the animal, a serious look on his face.

"What animal is that? A penguin, a lion, a whale, or a crocodile?"

"Is this serious what you guys are fighting about?"

"What is it!" They shouted at her.

She opened her mouth to say something but then stopped and sighed, rolling her eyes. She leaned closer to the ripped cardboard and squinted at the animal Yusuke was pointing at. She sighed again, standing back up.

"It's a llama."

"Yes!" Sumi punched at the air.

"That's biased!" Yusuke shouted. "You're biased!"

"I'm not biased!"

"No, you're sexist! You sided with your daughter!"

"Yeah, why couldn't ya have sided with your own _brother_?"

"Or even your damn _boyfriend_?"

"Or your _son_?"

"I'm not sexist and I'm not biased! That's a llama! And watch your language, Hiei!"

There was a soft knock at the door and it opened with a small creak. Kurama stuck his head in and smiled at Shizuru. She waved him over, beckoning him.

"C'mere, Kurama. What is this?"

Kurama glanced at the ripped cereal box and shrugged.

"It's a llama."

Shizuru turned back to the group, an eyebrow quirked.

"See? I told you!" She rolled her eyes. "Now, kids go get ready for school. And you two –" She looked form Yusuke to Kuwabara. "Clean up this mess."

She walked into the kitchen to make herself some coffee, stepping over the spilled cereal in an attempt to not crush it and make a bigger mess. Haru and Sumi ran from the kitchen, cereal crunching under their feet. Kurama shrugged again then flopped onto the couch, turning on the television with the remote. He glanced back at the kitchen to make sure that no one was watching him then turned back to the television, changing the channel to _Lifetime_. He smiled to himself; the movie he had started watching the night before was on again, like Kuwabara said, and it had just started.

Hiei snuck up behind Shizuru and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting the side of his face on her back. She stopped what she was doing, setting her mug on the kitchen counter as Hiei rubbed her stomach. She smiled to herself and picked the empty mug back up.

"It was a llama, Hiei."

Hiei groaned and let go of her, deliberately walking over the spilled cereal Kuwabara and Yusuke were trying to sweep up with a dustpan and broom. He did a little jig on a large pile just to spite them then smirked when they glared at him as he left the kitchen. He flopped down on the couch next to Kurama, watching as a man slapped a woman across the face on the television screen, sending her flying to the ground in tears and apologizing profusely. Hiei cocked an eyebrow then turned to Kurama, who seemed to be sitting on the edge of the couch, biting his nails in anticipation. His eyes sparkled in excitement as he watched the movie. He blinked, seeing Hiei stare at him in the corner of his eye. He turned and looked at his very short friend.

"How can you watch this _garbage_?" Hiei asked, shaking his head at Kurama.

"You shut up, _Lifetime _is God."

"And that is why you're still single."

Ooh, burn! Kurama opened his mouth to retort but couldn't find anything to say, his eyebrows furrowing. He turned back to the television, sulking into the couch and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hmph."

Twenty minutes later, after the twins had had showers and had gotten dressed, they ran into the living room and hopped onto Hiei and Kurama's laps. Sumi plucked the remote from Kurama's hands and changed the channel.

"_Sesame Street_'s on." She said, as if that would make him understand. "We watch it every morning."

Kurama let out a sad groan, upset that that was the second time that he had gotten into the _Lifetime_ Original movie and somebody had changed the channel at the best part. Hiei smirked at him and Kurama resisted the urge to punch his short friend in the back of the head.

"You're . . . stupid." Kurama whispered to Hiei.

Hiei gasped and bit his lip, looking at Kurama with wide eyes. His cheeks puffed out as he tried to keep his laughter under control. His body convulsed and he covered his mouth with his hands as his children and friend stared at him. He snorted a few times before cackling evilly. Yusuke, Shizuru and Kuwabara stood in the entranceway of the kitchen, watching Hiei laughing hysterically. Even Eikichi stopped and sat down in the hall and watched Hiei.

Kurama rolled his eyes and punched Hiei in the chest, being careful as to not hit the little boy sitting on his friend's lap.

"Holy crap, Kurama! I make fun of you being single and the best you can come up with is 'you're stupid'?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Hiei, leave Kurama alone. Kurama, why can't you watch _Lifetime_ at your place?"

"We don't get _Lifetime_ at our house." Kurama said sadly.

His head snapped up when he saw something on the screen. He smiled and clapped then hugged Sumi closer to his chest.

"Ooh, look! It's Elmo!" He grinned. "I love Elmo!"

"Cookie Monster's where it's at, Kurama." Kuwabara said, squishing in between Kurama and the arm of the couch.

"No way!" Yusuke exclaimed, resting in the recliner and kicking his feet up. "Oscar's the best character on here."

"Oscar?" Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, making a sick face. "Oscar the Grouch?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with Oscar?"

"He's a _grouch _and he lives in a _trashcan_!"

"There's nothing wrong with that! He's awesome!"

Shizuru rolled her eyes as a new argument started with the group in the living room. She sipped at her coffee, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara fought about which character on _Sesame Street_ was better.

"You're both wrong," Kurama interjected. "Elmo's the best. He's a little ladies man."

"Cookie Monster's a beast, man, just look at him!"

Shizuru rolled her eyes again and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Hiei, putting a hand lovingly on his shoulder. Hiei glanced at her, giving her a smile then turned back the _Sesame Street_ fight going on between his friends.

"Hiei, who's your favorite?" Kurama asked, playing with a lock of Sumi's hair.

"Of the Muppets? None."

"You're a little liar, Hiei!" Kuwabara accused, shaking a fist at Hiei. "Everybody's got a favorite from _Sesame Street_!"

"Does it really even matter? It's a children's show!"

"Of course it matters, it's one of the most important things in the entire world!"

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed with Kurama, nodding. "You can tell a lot about a person by who their favorite Muppet is on _Sesame Street_."

That was so true and it was strange that nobody really noticed that their favorite Muppet was, in a way, like themselves.

Kuwabara gasped, jerking in his seat on the couch as he watched a certain skinny blue monster with a red cape flew across the screen.

"Grover!" He exclaimed. "I totally forgot about Grover! He and Cookie Monster are my favorite!"

"Hey, honey." Shizuru put her arm around Hiei's shoulders, leaning against him. "Who _is_ your favorite?"

Everyone turned their attention back to Hiei, interest sparkling in their eyes. Hiei cleared his throat and tried to get up, Shizuru's arm holding him down.

"All right, all right! I'll tell you." Hiei growled, glaring at the screen as his favorite character came onto the screen. "It's that . . . elephant . . . with the long eyelashes."

"Snuffy!" Yusuke and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison, as if it were so obvious.

"Oh, that's so cute, Hiei!"

Shizuru poked him in the face and he slapped her hand away, trying to sink into the couch as a blush formed across his face. She looked at her watch and gasped, getting up.

"Okay, guys, time to go."

"But the show's not over yet!" Kuwabara whined.

"I was talking to the twins." She patted Hiei on the back. "C'mon, Snuffy Lover, let's take the kids to school."

Haru and Sumi hopped from Hiei and Kurama's laps, following Shizuru out of the apartment. Yusuke and Kuwabara snickered and Kurama covered his mouth to hide a smile. Hiei glared at them as he got up to leave the apartment.

"I will kill you in your sleep."

"Seeya later, Snuffy!" Yusuke shouted after Hiei as he slammed the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so this chapter is _so_ much better than the last one - and longer, too. Sorry about how ridiculous chapter three was and I totally made up for it with this one. Enjoy!

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Shizuru tapped her fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music that was playing on the radio. It was an old song that she had heard years ago, before she and her brother had gotten mixed up with Yusuke the Spirit Detective. She was trying to remember the words to it and the last time she had heard it. It was a slow love song, something that the crappy DJs at high school proms would play for the last dance.

She smiled as she remembered where she had heard it last; it _was_ her prom, her senior prom. She remembered the dark auditorium and the slow dancing couples. She had worn this strapless sparkling red mermaid style dress that hugged her body and flared out at her feet, a small slit exposed her feet. By that time during the night, the high heels were killing her and she had taken them off which made her two feet shorter than her date.

" . . . _I'll be your crying shoulder, I'll be love suicide and I'll be better when I'm older, I'll be the greatest fan of your life . . ."_

She even remembered her date; his dark brown hair slicked back and the smell of his cologne, his burgundy tuxedo and his hands on her waist. Ataru Yoshida, her boyfriend at the time. He was so beautiful and charming, athletic and toned, six foot something and had a dazzling bright white smile; all the girls at Shizuru's high school had chased after him and were extremely jealous when he had asked her out. They had dated for six months during the school year and almost half the summer before he moved away for college.

"Watch the road!" Hiei warned, pulling her from her daydream and pointing out the windshield.

"Oh, holy shit!" Shizuru exclaimed, swerving.

Haru and Sumi gasped in the backseat of the car, looking at each.

"Mommy said a bad word!" Sumi giggled.

"Sorry." Shizuru flashed an apologetic smile at her children from the rearview mirror then gave the same smile to Hiei. "Sorry."

"Hn." He grumbled, turning back to his window.

She sighed, shaking her head as she pulled into the school's parking lot. She unbuckled and opened her door, leaving the car running. She looked back at Hiei, smiling guiltily.

"I'll be back in a minute."

"Hn."

The twins bounced from the car and took Shizuru by the hand, pulling her towards the school. Inside the classroom, Shizuru's eyes widened when she saw the singed black spot on the wall at the corner of the room where Miss Ito's desk had been. A new desk was in its place, looking awkward against the charred wall and floor. Haru turned away from Shizuru when she looked down at him. Miss Ito approached her, her friendly smile on her face.

"Hello, Mrs. Kuwabara."

Shizuru didn't correct her; instead she just smiled at the kindergarten teacher. She put her hand on Haru's head, making him look up.

"Haru has something to tell you."

Haru looked up at Miss Ito and wrung his hands nervously. She cocked her head to the side, smiling down at him.

"Go on, Haru." Shizuru encouraged him, patting him on the head.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your desk and I'm sorry for punching Ryo in the nose."

"It's all right, sweetheart, but you might want to apologize to Ryo."

Haru looked over at a table, seeing a little boy with black hair glaring back at him. Haru looked at Shizuru, who smiled down at him. She crouched down and kissed him on the forehead, leaving a kiss mark. Haru tried frantically to wipe it off when his mother's back was turned as she kissed Sumi on the forehead.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" she said, looking back at them. "Have a good day, babies."

The twins hugged her and said their goodbyes. Shizuru stood and smiled a goodbye at Miss Ito, who kept her wide friendly Botan-like smile, then left the classroom. She jogged back to the car, looking at her watch. She was running late.

"Shit!" She mumbled as she got back into the car, slamming the car door behind her. "Shit, I'm going to be late."

She glanced at the passenger seat and was surprised to not see Hiei sitting there. She sighed, thinking that he must have gotten sick of waiting for her and had left even if she had only been in there for a few minutes. He didn't like to be kept waiting. She buckled and drove off to the salon where she worked, her memory coming back to her.

_Shizuru smiled to herself, resting her head against his chest and inhaling deeply in the smell of his cologne. His calloused hands held her tiny waist as they danced slowly. Shizuru glanced at the group of six girls standing in the corner of the dark lit auditorium, their arms crossed over the chest of their expensive frilly overly glamorous prom dresses as they glared at Shizuru._

"_Are they still glaring at you?" His velvet voice rumbled in his chest._

_She looked up at him to see him smiling down at her lovingly, his teeth gleaming in the scarce light of the room. She blushed up at him, hating herself for acting so feminine._

"_Yeah, I think so."_

"_They're just jealous of you." He said softly, taking her red-gloved hands and hooking them behind his neck. "You're so beautiful."_

_She smiled widely up at him and he spun her around, the flared part of her dress flying up and exposing her ankles. Ataru put his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they danced._

"_I love you." He said, spinning her again. "You look like a storybook princess."_

"_I feel like a storybook princess." She winked at him. "Just call me Princess Shizuru."_

_As the song neared its end, he leaned towards her, as she stood on the balls of her toes to meet him halfway. She slid her hands from behind his neck down to his thick muscular chest, where they rested against his pectorals lightly. He cupped her face in his thick tanned hands and kissed her deeply. She smirked when she heard the girls standing in the corner giving her death glares take a sharp intake of breath then let out a series of collective envious growls and pathetic whiny whimpers. Ataru pulled away from her, smiling down at her lips._

"_This is our song." He said, watching her eyes flutter open. "Always and forever."_

_She smiled and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him again. He stumbled backwards then regained his balance, chuckling softly and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. The song ended and the lights came on, making the dancing high school seniors blink and groan. Ataru led Shizuru off the dance floor, holding her gloved hand. He retrieved her black silk shawl and placed it gently on her shoulders, kissing her ear from behind her. She turned to him and put her hands on his face, staring into his bright entrancing hazel eyes. He kissed her forehead then got down on his knees. Everyone turned to stare at him, gasping as they watched, thinking they knew exactly was going on. Shizuru blushed, covering her mouth with a hand. His position did seem strange, surprising and yet a bit predictable._

"_Can I help you put your magic slippers on, my dear Cinderella?"_

_He winked up at her and she handed him her red pumps, letting him slip them on her feet. He stood and put an arm around her waist, leading her out of the auditorium to his car. He opened her door for her, smiling at her as she got in. He jogged around the car and got in. They kissed once more as he started the car._

"_So, uhm . . . should I take you home now or . . .?" He asked politely._

_She blushed as she looked out the window, smiling to herself. He was blushing too, giving his tanned face a red tinge that matched her dress as he stared straight ahead with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She turned to him and put a gloved hand on his knee._

"_I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to go that far yet, Ataru."_

_He glanced at her and smiled, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles before turning back to the road._

"_That's all right, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to."_

_She practically melted in the seat, her heart fluttering in her chest. She looked down at her lap, fiddling with her gloved fingers. She hadn't paid any attention and was surprised when she saw that Ataru was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex. He sat back, sighing audibly through his nose. He smiled at her when she unbuckled. She crawled onto his lap, bunching up her dress. His eyes widened with surprise and he gasped._

"_Shizuru, what're you –"_

"_Sh."_

_She kissed him, cupping his face in her hands. He put his hands on her hips, leaning into the kiss. He pulled away a minute later, turning his head away from her._

"_Shizuru, stop."_

"_I'm not doing anything. I just wanted to kiss you."_

"_I know, but . . . we're being watched."_

"_Huh?"_

_He pointed out the windshield and she turned to see her brother standing at his window, watching them. Shizuru's eyes narrowed as she watched Kuwabara run from the window. She got off of Ataru's lap, sighing as she fell back into the passenger seat. She blushed, moving a loose strand of her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her head._

"_Sorry, my brother . . ."_

"_It's all right, shall I walk you to the door?"_

_Before she could say anything, he had gotten out of the car and walked around the car to her side. He opened the door like a gentleman, smiling at her as he helped her out. He walked her up the stairs and shoved his hands into his pockets, acting coy._

"_I had a great time, Ataru." She said softly._

"_So did I." He smiled down at her before kissing her again. "I'll call you tomorrow, we'll hang out."_

"_Okay." She bit her lip, fumbling with her key as she kept her eyes on him. "I'd like that."_

_Ataru pulled her to him and kissed her deeply once more. The door opened as Shizuru dropped her key. She and Ataru stared at Kuwabara standing in the doorway. She glared at him._

"_Kazuma . . ."_

"_What're you doing with my sister?" He barked at Ataru. "Hands off!"_

"_Kazuma!"_

"_Whoa, buddy, I don't know what you're thinking but I'm not hurting her or anything."_

"_He's my boyfriend!"_

_She shoved Kuwabara back into the apartment, turning back to smile at Ataru one last time. He picked up her keys and handed them to her._

"_I really did have fun." She said. "See you later."_

Shizuru ran into the salon, apologizing frantically for being late. She rushed into the backroom to put her things away and hang up her jacket.

"Shizuru!" The short chubby friend/co-worker of Shizuru's stuck her head in through the bright butterfly wall beads, smiling at her. "You got someone waiting for you. And my, is he a fine looking someone."

"Oh, hush. I'm taken, Airi."

"Ask him if he's single for me then!"

Shizuru waved her friend away and walked to her little hairdressing station. The man was already sitting in the chair, flipping through a catalog and searching for the right hairstyle.

"Hi, how can I help you today, sir?" Shizuru asked, sounding like an overly friendly fast food restaurant employee.

The man in the chair set the catalog down on the small counter in front of him and sighed deeply.

"Just a little trim, I suppose."

He lifted his head to smile at Shizuru in the mirror and the two gasped; the man's smile disappearing.

"Ataru?" She clutched the back of the chair in her hands, her knuckles turning white. "What're you doing here?"

"I came in for a trim, I didn't know you worked here!"

She smiled nervously at him through the mirror then reached over to pick up the haircutting scissors from the counter, her hand shaking. Ataru grabbed her wrist, sending familiar little waves of electricity through her body. She gasped, dropping the scissors.

"You're shaking." He stated, turning her hand over to look at her palm. "Are you nervous?"

"No, I'm just . . . I'm surprised to see you." She lied. "It's been a few years, right?"

"Almost decade, I think."

"Oh, really?" She pulled her hand free and picked up the scissors again. "Has it really been that long?"

Ataru chuckled as she turned the chair around and stepped behind him to trim his hair. His long chestnut brown hair was almost as long as Kurama's and she couldn't help but run her hands through it.

"So, how have you been?" Ataru asked sounding interested in her life. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, uhm . . . my kids just started school."

He tensed a little, she watched the muscles on the back of his neck tighten then relax when he did. She resisted the urge to run a finger down the back of his tanned neck and resumed trimming his hair.

"So," He said softly, a smile in his voice. "You're a mommy."

"Yeah, I'm a mommy." She smiled widely and proudly, thinking of the twins. "They're twins and they just started kindergarten."

"Twins? Wow, Shizuru. What're their names?"

"Well, my daughter's name is Sumi and my son's name is Haru."

"Wow, Shizuru." He repeated. "You're husband's a very lucky man."

"Oh, I'm not married."

He tensed again, inhaling deeply. He nodded, as if he understood what she meant.

"I mean I have a . . . partner,"

"Partner?" He voice sounded high and surprised.

She rolled her eyes at what his voice implied; she was sick of people assuming that she was a lesbian. Just because she didn't skip and prance around and giggle like Botan did or act a worried girlfriend like Yukina did or put on make up and tease her hair up just to see if her boyfriend would notice like Keiko did, she was automatically a lesbian.

God forbid anybody saw her and Kurama together; being referred to as a girl grated on Kurama's nerves more than anything but that was the consequence for having that long luxurious red hair of his.

"He's the children's father."

"Oh, so you're _not_ married?"

"Not yet, I guess."

"I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

What was she supposed to say to that? 'Oh really? That's weird because I heard our song on the radio this morning and ever since then I've been thinking about you and –' She pushed the thought away with a disgusted look on her face.

"I've missed you." He said softly as she finished up. "For the longest time, I kept thinking that maybe we made a big mistake."

"All done." She said, straightening her back and changing the subject.

She spun the chair around to face the mirror and her heart fluttered in her chest when she met his eyes in the mirror, a small gasp escaping her lips. He smiled at her, running his hands through his hair.

"Come have lunch with me." He smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "We'll catch up."

"I don't know."

"Please? My treat."

She bit her lip as she blushed. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could feel a nervous sweat drip down the back of her neck. Ataru stood and turned to her, that charming smile on his face. She opened her mouth to turn his request down again when her coworkers, Airi and Ei ran up behind her, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"She'd love to!" They exclaimed, wide smiles on the two young women's faces.

Shizuru looked from Airi to Ei, sputtering as she tried to protest. The two women ran off as fast as they could, giggling. Shizuru shrugged, raising her arms in defeat.

"Sure, Ataru, I'll go to lunch with you."

Miss Ito had moved Haru and Sumi away from each other, saying that the two needed to spend more time with the other children that they didn't know and not spend as much time as they did with each other. So, Sumi was moved to the other side of the room, next to her friend Ai and two other little girls. Every once in a while, she would wave to her twin brother and he'd wave back.

The two had a secret language that only they knew of and would flash each other strange hand signals or tap on a table or whisper a strange gibberish word and they would completely understand what the other was saying. That was the reason why Miss Ito had moved them, in an attempt to teach them to not to rely on each other so much.

Sumi tapped on her table twice loud enough for her brother to hear from his seat two tables away from her. Without looking up from the picture he was drawing with a black crayon, he picked up a bottle of glue and tossed it behind him. Sumi reached up and caught it then proceeded to glue the pink pony she had painted the day before onto a piece of paper that she colored half blue and half green.

Miss Ito picked up the bell on her desk and rang it, standing up.

"Okay, kids! Time for lunch!" She said sweetly, clapping her hands together. "And since it's _such_ a nice day, I thought we'd eat outside."

The kids got up from their tables and stampeded towards their cubbies to grab their lunchboxes. Haru and Sumi stood next to each other, waiting patiently and watching as the other children pushed and shoved each other to get their lunchboxes. Sumi clicked her tongue and Haru nodded, understanding her.

The two sat next to each other, eating their lunches in a corner of the chain linked fenced kindergarten playground. A little girl with short brown hair ran up to them, smiling at Sumi.

"Sumi, come eat with us by the swings!"

Sumi smiled at the girl then her smile disappeared when she looked at her brother, who was looking at the girl with a sad and quizzical look on his face. Sumi looked back at the girl, smiling again.

"Can Haru come too?"

"No, girls only!" The girl stuck her tongue out at Haru.

The girl took Sumi by the hand and helped her up. Sumi looked back at her brother as the girl pulled her over to the swings. Haru sighed sadly and resumed eating his lunch. He threw his lunch back into his red plastic Power Rangers lunchbox and snapped it shut, his appetite gone. He sighed again, stretching his arms up above his head and leaning back to rest against the cold metal on the chain linked fence. He hated kindergarten and it was only the second day! To him, it was only getting worse by the minute.

"_You have twelve more years of this school crap . . . sixteen if you go to college after high school . . ."_

Haru sighed again as his father's words echoed in his head. He rested his hands on the back of his head, thinking. He smirked to himself, an idea coming to him.

"Well, maybe I won't _go_ to college, dad." He said to himself, looking up at the sky. "You can't make me."

He didn't notice the three boys coming to him. He blinked, finally seeing the boys in the corner of his eye. He gave them a look that he had seen Yusuke make on numerous occasions when Kuwabara was bothering him.

"What do you want?" He asked, pulling his knees up to his chest. "I'm not bothering you."

"We don't like you!" One of the brunette boys said snottily.

"Well, good! I don't like you, either!"

"This is our corner!" The other brunette boy said, jabbing a finger at Haru's forehead. "Get out."

"No!" Haru jumped up, narrowing his eyes in a way his father did when he was very angry with someone or something. "I don't see your name on it!"

"Move it, freak." The short boy in the middle sneered. "Go away."

"I was here first!"

The little boy in the middle shoved Haru to the ground, the two boys on either side of him laughing at him. Haru could feel his blood boiling with anger and that familiar feeling of a fire wanting out fighting him from the inside. He kept wondering where Miss Ito was and if she even knew what was going on. He wondered what Sumi was doing by the swings. He glanced over and saw that his sister's back was to him.

"Hey!"

The four little boys turned to see a black haired boy with a bandage on his nose standing there, his hands balled into fists that rested on his hips and an angry glare on his face.

"Leave him alone, Kiyoshi!" The raven-haired boy stated, glaring at the middle boy.

Haru's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the boy with the bandaged nose standing there and defending him.

"R . . . Ryo . . ." He said softly, sitting up.

"Get out of here, Ryo!" Kiyoshi sneered, sticking his tongue out at him. "We don't want you here, either."

"You leave him alone and I'll leave _you_ alone." Ryo answered, puffing his small chest out as he stepped towards Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi shoved Ryo, but fell backwards when his attempt to push the bigger kindergarten boy down backfired. Ryo walked over to Haru and shoved his hand out to him, offering to help him up. Haru grabbed his hand and let Ryo pull him up. Haru dusted the woodchips from his front as Ryo wiped the ones off of his back.

"Are you okay?" Ryo asked, looking down at Haru with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kiyoshi stood up and lunged at Haru, growling. Haru turned with lightning-like speed and set the kids shirt on fire, his eyes narrowed in a death glare. The two brunette boys jumped at Ryo as Kiyoshi shrieked and cried, dropping to the ground and rolling to put the fire on his shirt out. Ryo kicked the two other boys away from him, knocking them to the ground. Miss Ito ran over, shouting at them as the fire from Kiyoshi's shirt spread to the woodchips.

"Everyone inside!" Miss Ito shouted at the rest of the class. "Now!"

In the crowd, Sumi searched frantically for her twin brother, smelling and seeing smoke. She whimpered, her throat tightening as she started to cry. She ran to Haru as he and Ryo made their way into the classroom, crying with her arms stretched out to him.

"Haru!" She sobbed, holding onto him. "What happened?"

The class stared from the sliding glass door of their classroom that lead out to the playground, watching Miss Ito and a janitor fighting the fire with two fire extinguishers. Haru flopped down onto the green beanbag in the corner of the room, rubbing his nose on the back of his shirtsleeves as Sumi asked him question after question.

"It was an accident. Don't tell mom, okay?" Haru said as Sumi sat next to him. "Please?"

"I won't." She promised, fretfully playing with a thick lock of her long raven curls.

Ryo stood in front of Haru and Sumi, staring at Sumi. His eyes were wide and there was a pale rose color across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. Sumi tilted her head to the side, staring back at him.

"Who are you?" She asked softly. "Didn't Haru punch you in the nose yesterday?"

Ryo grabbed Sumi's hands in his, staring into her eyes and he got down on bended knee. The blush on his face deepened and Sumi's eyes widened in surprise. Who was this strange little boy and why was he holding her hands?

"I'm Ryo Narita!" Ryo exclaimed, holding Sumi's hands. "You're so pretty, you make me want to give you the cupcakes I get for lunch!"

Haru's eye twitched as he glared at Ryo. Sumi giggled at Ryo's words, smiling at him in a way that made her resemble her aqua-haired aunt Yukina. Haru resisted the urge to set Ryo on fire, slapping the boy's hands away from Sumi.

"All right, hands offa my sister!"

"Haru Kuwabara and Ryo Narita!"

The three children looked up to see Miss Ito standing next to them, looking frazzled with her hands on her hips. She breathed heavily through her nose and her face was flushed. Her hair was frizzy; strands of her hair sticking out every which way. She pointed to a stool by her new desk then to another one across the room, the one Haru had sat on the day before in timeout.

"You two are in timeout for five minutes for fighting on the playground!"

The three children stood up and protested the timeout, their words all rushing together and falling on deaf ears. Miss Ito pointed at the stools again.

"Go." She said. "I'm calling your parents."

Kuwabara sat in front of the television, playing _Snowboard Kids_ with Yusuke when the phone rang. The twenty - somethings tried to ignore it, elbowing each other in attempt to make the other mess up and lose the game. Kuwabara groaned as Yusuke won again. Yusuke flicked his friend in the nose.

"I kicked your ass again, bitch." He taunted as his big friend got up and answered the phone, grumbling.

"Hullo, Kuwabara residence." Kuwabara groaned into the phone, rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand. "Kazuma Kuwabara speaking."

Yusuke turned the game off and turned to look back at Kuwabara, watching his friend's eyebrows furrowing.

"No, she's at work right now . . . No, he's not here . . . I'm their uncle . . . Are you serious? Aw, crap . . . Yes, ma'am, I'll be right there."

Kuwabara hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket from the couch. Yusuke hopped up, stretching his arms above his head.

"Wuzzat about?" He asked during his stretch, a content half smile on his face.

Kuwabara groaned once more, scratching the back of his head with one hand as he grabbed his car keys off of the side table with his other. He shrugged on his jacket, a concerned look on his face.

"Haru got in trouble again. His teacher needs someone to pick him up a few minutes early but can't reach Shizuru at work; they say she's still out to lunch. And seeing as Hiei ain't here, it's uncle Kazuma the great to the rescue."

"And uncle Yusuke." Yusuke smirked at the back of his best friend's head as he followed him out of the apartment and to the white compact car. "Can we listen to Ying Yang Twins?"

"You'll listen to whatever the hell's in the CD player of my car." Kuwabara retorted, unlocking the car and sliding into the front seat.

Yusuke rolled his eyes and got into the passenger seat, not even making a move to buckle up.

"That means we have to listen to Heart a billion more times."

"Hey, I like Heart." Kuwabara started his car, glancing at Yusuke. "Buckle up for safety, mother hugger."

Yusuke rolled his eyes again and reluctantly buckled up, mumbling under his breath about his overly protective friend. Kuwabara turned up the volume of his car stereo and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he nodding his head to the beat of the music and sang softly to himself. He pulled out of the parking lot, making his way to his nephew and niece's school.

"Dude, put on Barracuda." Yusuke suggested, smirking at his friend. "We can have a little sing-a-long."

Kuwabara snickered, pressing the next button a few times on his car stereo and nodding in agreement. He turned the volume up to full blast, which made his car shake and vibrate.

"I like the way you think, Urameshi!" He shouted over the music. "I'll do drums on the steering wheel and you do guitar and vox!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Shizuru sat next to Ataru, outside a small restaurant and under the shade of an umbrella from their table. It was very nice to spend time with Ataru and catch up, even if he was an ex-boyfriend. She felt so young again; with him, she was still that slow dancing high school senior in the red prom dress.

"You should have called me when you got back in town!" She said, slapping his hand as if he were just an old friend instead of an old beau.

"I tried!" He chuckled, putting his hands up as if to defend himself. "I tried your old number, but it was disconnected."

"We moved from our old apartment years ago, when the twins learned to walk."

She rested her chin in her hand, smiling dreamily at Ataru. His watch caught her eye and she gasped, pointing to it.

"Is that the right time?" She stood up, grabbing her jacket and purse. "Shit, I have to get back to work!"

"Whoa, settle down." He put his hand on hers gently, giving her his charming smile. "I'll drive you, don't worry."

"No thank you, Ataru. I run pretty fast, I ran –"

"You ran track in high school." Ataru finished, standing up. "Yes, and so did I. I believe that's how we met."

"Oh, yeah." She couldn't believe that she had forgotten something like that.

"Your chariot awaits, milady."

She looked at him as he held his arm out to her. She smiled politely, blushing a little, and hooked her arm in his. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder as Ataru lead her to his shiny cherry red convertible, unaware that someone was watching her.

Hiei grimaced as he watched his lover arm in arm with a strange tall man. His eye twitched as he watched them get into his car, he could hear her laughing at something the man said. He felt a slight pain in his chest, in his heart. He blinked profusely as if to get something out of his eyes then rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. He let out a sniffle then let out sad, watery "Hn" before flitting off.

Haru sighed, cupping his chin in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees as he sat on the bench outside his classroom. Ryo sat next to him, watching his legs swinging. The blush hadn't left his face and Haru rolled his eyes when he would glance at the boy next to him and see it across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. He was glad that his sister wasn't there; Sumi was out on the playground with her friend Ai, who waiting for her mother to pick her up. They were the only four children at the school; all the others had been picked up early after the fire. Haru sighed again then looked at Ryo.

"Sorry I punched you in the nose yesterday."

"It's all right," Ryo shrugged. "Somehow, I deserved it. Sorry those kids were being mean to you."

"It's all right, thanks for helping me out."

"No problem!" Ryo smiled at Haru, who smirked back.

The two five-year-old boys looked down the hall, hearing somebody running towards them. A chubby young man with slicked back black hair ran towards them, breathing heavily. He stopped suddenly, seeing the two boys. He waved and walked the rest of the way over.

"Ryo, what happened?" The man asked, ruffling Ryo's hair.

"Hi, big brother!" Ryo chirped, smiling.

Haru cocked his head to the side, wondering where he had seen the big man before. He turned to the left, hearing footsteps coming from that direction. He smiled, seeing his uncles running towards him. He hopped off the bench and waved to them.

"Boy, am I glad you guys are here!" He said as Kuwabara and Yusuke got closer.

"Dude, Okubo!" Kuwabara smiled goofily and high fived the big man, smiling goofily. "I haven't seen you in forever! What've you been up to?"

"Nothing much, man!" Okubo answered, pounding his fist against Kuwabara's. "I've been working a lot, what's up with you? Hey, Urameshi. What're you guys doing here?"

"I'm here picking up my nephew." Kuwabara said, glancing down at Haru. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm picking up my brother." Okubo answered, ruffling Ryo's hair again.

"Jeez, just how many brothers and sisters you got?" Yusuke asked, snickering. "Is your mom half rabbit?"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shrieked, trying to smack his best friend in the head. "Ya can't talk like that in front of little kids, man, they're like _sponges_! And don't insult my friend!"

"Oh, it's all right, Kuwabara. Around the time we stopped hanging out, my mom got a new boyfriend and got married to him. Ryo's their kid."

The three young men laughed as Haru and Ryo looked up at them, wondering what they were talking about. Kuwabara scratched at the back of his head then looked down at Haru.

"Where's your sister?" Kuwabara asked. "We gotta get going."

"I'll go get her." Haru groaned, knowing that Ryo was going to want to go with him.

"I wanna come!" Ryo chirped, running ahead of Haru and into the classroom. "Sumi, my Cupcake Girl!"

Yusuke smirked at Okubo's younger brother, crossing his arms over his chest. From what he could see, the kid was just a mini Kuwabara, another hopeless romantic. Okubo and Kuwabara noticed it as well and chuckled.

"Aw, to be young and in love." Kuwabara muttered, thinking about when he was younger and chased after Yukina.

Ryo and Sumi came out of the classroom a few minutes later arms linked, Ryo with a large goofy Kuwabara-like smile and Sumi with her aunt Yukina's oblivious face and smile. Haru followed after them, glaring daggers at Ryo with his arms crossed over his small chest.

"My teacher wants to talk to you." Haru said, looking up at Kuwabara.

Kuwabara nodded then looked back at Yusuke, tossing his car keys at him.

"Can you take them to the car for me?"

"Sure."

Yusuke nodded at Okubo, flicking his two-fingered salute wave at his best friend's old friend. Okubo gave him a small wave then said good-bye to Kuwabara before taking Ryo by the hand and leading him the opposite direction of Sumi and Haru. Kuwabara sighed and walked into the classroom to see his nephew and niece's teacher standing at her desk, shuffling papers with a worried look on her face.

"Uhm, hello?" Kuwabara said, knocking on the wall to get Miss Ito's attention. "My nephew said that you wanted to talk to me?"

Miss Ito looked up at Kuwabara and gasped. She stood up straight, trying to smooth out her frizzy hair as she smiled at him, blushing slightly.

"You must be Haru's uncle." She said, her smile more than friendly, as she looked him up and down. "I'm Miss Ito."

"Yeah, we spoke on the phone earlier." Kuwabara rubbed back of the neck, looking her up and down as well.

"It seems he's quite the troublemaker."

"Yeah, it kinda runs in the family." Kuwabara chuckled nervously, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"He seems like a good kid, I'm sure he really is. I'd really hate to suspend him."

"Oh, please don't!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I mean – can't you just give him a warning or something? The fires are just accidents, y'see – Haru and Sumi aren't like other kids."

"What do you mean? Should they be put in the special classes?"

"Oh, god. I'm just making things worse. No, they shouldn't." Kuwabara sighed, looking Miss Ito in the eyes. "You should talk to their mom later today, I'm no good with this kind of thing."

"All right." Miss Ito smiled at him. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Kuwabara."

"Oh, uh . . . call me Kazuma."

"Oh . . . okay, Kazuma."

The two giggled nervously as Kuwabara left the classroom, a blush on his face. He ran to car and hopped into the front seat, starting the car. He cleared his throat and in the corner of his eye, he saw Yusuke smirking at him.

"What?" Kuwabara snapped. "What're you starin' at, Urameshi?"

"Nothing." Yusuke shook his head, his eyebrows quirked. "Nothin' at all, best buddy."

"Did you do something to my car?"

"No, I swear."

"Good."

Kuwabara looked back at the twins in the backseat of his car, making sure that they were buckled then pulled out of the parking lot. Yusuke kept smirking at his friend, aggravating Kuwabara.

"What, what do you want?" Kuwabara snapped when they were halfway home. "Quit lookin' at me like that, Urameshi!"

"Did you know that Fergie did a cover of Barracuda?"

"Really?" Kuwabara scrunched his face as he tried to imagine it, wondering if that was really what was on his friend's mind. "I don't really care for Fergie that much, Botan's crazy about her though. What does this have to do anything?"

"Just talking music. Hey, Kuwabara." Yusuke said in a sinister joking voice. "What's your favorite Van Halen song?"

Kuwabara blushed and tighten his grip on the steering, knowing full well what Yusuke was doing. He had seen Tommy Boy about a million times.

"Personally, I like Jump." Yusuke wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, biting his tongue as he smirked. "But Hot for Teacher comes in a close second for me!"

Kuwabara growled and punched his friend in the chest, causing Yusuke to laugh maniacally.

Shizuru stepped out of the car, smiling at Ataru who grinned back.

"Thanks so much for taking me to lunch. I'll pay you back."

"Oh, it was nothing!" Ataru waved the thought of her paying him back with a wave of his hand. "It was just a quick meal between two old friends. Here."

He handed her a slip of paper with two phone numbers on it. He lowered his sunglasses, looking over them at her.

"Call me sometime and we'll do lunch again, Princess Shizuru."

She blushed as he chuckled. She waved goodbye then ran back into the salon, watching Ataru drive off.

Hiei let the hot water of the shower hit his face, closing his eyes tightly. He balled his hands into fists and tried not to think about Shizuru doing anything with that stranger. He knew that there was probably a reasonable explanation, Kurama would say, as to why she was out with another man. Hiei bit the inside of his lip hard, making it bleed. He was _not_ the cool calm Kurama – he was the hotheaded Hiei.

He sat down in the tub, letting the hot water wet his body as he crossed his arms over his chest and thought. He grew more and more angry with the millions of little situations between Shizuru and the stranger that played in his head over and over again.

"If he touched her," Hiei said lowly, picking up a bar of soap and crushing it in half in his fist. "If he touched her in anyway, I'll kill him."

He sat in the scalding hot shower for about a half hour, letting the water calm him down then got out. He wrapped a pale blue towel tightly around his waist and slipped in the bedroom he shared with Shizuru to get dressed. Shizuru had managed to take him shopping every once in a while to buy him new clothes, not that his black clothes didn't fit him or look appealing.

"You just need new clothes," She had said once, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder. "Clothes that make you look sexy."

Hiei groaned as he ripped a lavender button up shirt from a hanger on his side of the closet. He pulled the shirt on, not bothering to unbutton it first. He jerked on a pair of black jeans, jumping a few times to pull them over his hips. He left his room to see his children coming in through the door, Kuwabara and Yusuke following after them. Haru smiled at Hiei and ran to him, his arms out to his father. Hiei crouched down and smiled at his son, hugging him.

"Hi, dad!" Haru chirped in his father's ear.

"Hi, Haru." Hiei stood, holding Haru in his arms. "What are you and your sister doing home so early?"

"Haru set a boy on fire!" Sumi exclaimed.

"Sumi!" Haru glared at his twin sister.

"What?" She shrugged, her hands up. "You told me not to tell _mommy_."

"Damn it, Haru!" Hiei snapped, putting his son down. "I thought you weren't going to do that anymore! I thought we talked about this last night, didn't we?"

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Sumi and Haru stared at Hiei with wide eyes; Hiei had never yelled at his children before. Haru opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly.

"Didn't we?" Hiei repeated, raising his voice.

"Yes, dad." Haru said softly, his eyes starting to water. "I'm sorry. Please, don't yell at me, dad."

Hiei narrowed his eyes at his son, making Haru yelp as if Hiei had struck him. Hiei put his hands on his hips and jerked his head in the direction of the twins' bedroom.

"Go to your room." He said crisply. "Do not come out until I or your mother come in to speak to you."

"But dad, I –"

"Go!"

Haru jumped, hearing Hiei yell at him. He bit his lip and wiped his eyes, running passed his father to go to his room and slamming his bedroom door behind him. Sumi started crying, clutching onto Kuwabara's leg. Hiei's angry facial expression deepened. Kuwabara picked the little girl up, bouncing her and trying to calm her down as he went into the kitchen to get them something to eat. Yusuke's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth was agape.

"Hiei, what's wrong with you?" He asked, his voice rushed.

"Shut up, Yusuke." Hiei snapped, sitting down on the couch.

"What's got you all pissed off?" Yusuke asked, sitting down next to his short friend. "You didn't have to yell at him, he's just a kid! Stuff like that scares the crap outta them."

"We had a talk last night, he told me and then he told his mother that he would _not_ make any more fires. God, that kid!"

"How is Shizuru gonna feel when she finds out you yelled at him? I thought you guys were totally against that kind of thing, like spanking."

"I don't really care how Shizuru is going to feel, you illiterate idiot."

Yusuke grabbed Hiei by the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to his face.

"I'm gonna let that one slide but next time you insult me, I'll punch your lights out." Yusuke growled at him. "Now, let's step outside and have a nice friendly man to man chat about what's going on with you."

Hiei narrowed his eyes into a glare at Yusuke, hoping that it would scare his friend into letting him go. Hiei sighed and rolled his eyes, jerking away from Yusuke and going to the door. Yusuke followed his friend to the door, glancing at the kitchen to see Kuwabara staring at him as he spoke to Sumi. Yusuke slipped through the door, closing it behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door.

"All right, Hiei. Talk."

"I saw Shizuru with another man today." Hiei mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, so you're jealous?" Yusuke clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Dude, you know that there's gotta be a logical explanation for it all, right?"

"Shut up." Hiei shot a glare at Yusuke. "When did you turn into Kurama?"

"Hey, I'm just sayin' my opinion." Yusuke shrugged, smirking. "Maybe, he's gay. Just talk to her about it later, what she says will settle everything. She loves you and you know she'd never cheat on you, the Kuwabaras aren't like that."

Hiei growled, that hurt and angry feeling still binding itself into a knot in his stomach. He still felt uneasy about Shizuru with the other man. He turned to Yusuke, his face blank and uninterested as always.

"Are we done here?"

"You should go apologize to your kids."

"What do you think I was going to do?"

Hiei smirked and pushed Yusuke out of the way to get to the door. Yusuke shook his head and followed Hiei back into the apartment. Hiei went into the kitchen, walking up behind Sumi. He moved her hair out of the way and kissed her on the cheek. She turned to look at him, a small smile on her face.

"You're not mad anymore, daddy?"

"No, Sumi." He hugged her, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry that I yelled like that, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, daddy."

Kuwabara looked from Hiei to Yusuke, an uneasy look on his face. Yusuke shrugged then sat down next to his ox-like friend. Hiei left the kitchen and made his way to his children's bedroom. He opened the door and stuck his head in. The door was completely dark and Haru was nowhere to be seen. Hiei stepped in, closing the door behind him quietly. He got down on his knees and walked over to his son's bed, seeing Haru sitting in the space between his bed and the wall. His face was hidden in his knees and his little body was shaking.

"Haru." Hiei said softly.

The little boy jerked and tried to press himself into the wall in an attempt to get away from Hiei. Hiei put his hands under his son's arms and picked him up, pulling him into a hug. The little boy cried and tried to push Hiei away from him, beating at Hiei's chest with his fists.

"Haru, stop!" Hiei said softly, holding his son tightly to his body. "I am so sorry for yelling at you. I will never, ever do it again. I promise. I was angry at something else and I took it out on you."

"I didn't mean to, dad!" Haru sobbed, wiping his face on his father's shirt. "It was an accident, I swear. I get so angry that I can't keep it in. Please, don't tell mom!"

"I have to tell your mother, she needs to know."

Hiei ran his hand through his son's auburn hair as Haru started to calm down, clutching the fabric of Hiei's shirt in his fists. Haru snuffled, whimpering softly.

"I'm sorry, dad." He whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"I know, son, I know."

Shizuru smiled to herself as she gathered her things and left the salon. She waved back at her coworkers then made her way to her car. She rummaged around in her purse, searching for her keys when her cell phone lit up, displaying that she had six new messages. She took her keys out and unlocked her car. Getting into the car, she took out her cell phone and listened to her messages.

_Hello, it's Ataru._ He chuckled. _I just wanted to let you know that I really liked going out to lunch with you today. I've really missed you. We should go to lunch again. I hope the rest of your day is wonderful, princess Shizuru. Bye._

Shizuru smiled to herself and deleted the message, going onto the next one.

_Dude, Urameshi, cut it out! I'm on the phone! Shit, is it recording? Hey, sis, for dinner can we have –_

She rolled her eyes and deleted the message from her brother about what he wanted for dinner as she started the car and left the salon.

_Hello, Mrs. Kuwabara, this is Miss Ito, Haru and Sumi's teacher._ Shizuru's eyes widened, thinking that something bad had happened to the twins at the school. _There has been another fire and all the children in the school need to evacuate the school. Oh, well, I'll try back again later._

Shizuru groaned, her eyes narrowing in anger as she deleted the message.

_Hello, Mrs. Kuwabara, this is Miss Ito again. I called about a half hour ago about the fire at the school. It seems that your children are the only ones who haven't been picked up yet. I forgot to mention that Haru was also in a fight with four other little boys at lunch today._

She deleted the message, groaning again.

_Hey, sis, it's me again. I just called to say I picked up the kids from school. I think Haru started another fire or something. Uhm, oh yeah. Their teacher really needs to talk to you. 'Kay, seeya later. Love you._

She deleted the message as she drove on, thinking about what she was going to do and say when she got home. Haru was in big trouble.

_Hello, Mrs. Kuwabara, this is Miss Ito again. I would like to schedule a meeting with you and Haru, if that's all right with you. He's is a very good kid, I can see that. I'm just worried that he might have some, well, behavior problems. Please call me back at this number or talk to me in the morning when you drop your children off. Thank you, goodbye._

Shizuru pulled into the parking lot of the apartment, saving the message on her phone. She turned the car off and jumped out of the car, angrily going up the stairs to her apartment. She shoved her key into the doorknob, unlocking the door and flinging the door open.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Okay . . . I don't know about you, but I think that I might have to change it from "Romance/Humor" to "Romance/General" because it's not that humorous . . . unless this falls under dark comedy or something. Also, I've been watching the anime "Gurren Lagann" and there are these two little kids, Gimmy and Darry - those two are what Haru and Sumi are like. If you've seen the show then you know what I'm talking about. And I want you guys to know that I am _not_ ripping on Kurama in this story, I'm not making fun of him or anything so don't send me any angry reviews about me making Kurama the way he is - deal with it, I _love_ it. I made him perfect (well, I guess, more perfect.:P) Enjoy!

* * *

Shizuru blinked back tears as she drove her children to school that morning. The sky was gray and threatened to rain. Her lips felt swollen and bruised and her body felt sore, especially her back and her throat. She rubbed her lips together, wetting them with her tongue. Haru and Sumi were deathly silent in the backseat of the car, sitting far away from each other and staring blankly out their windows. She groaned as she missed the turn-off to the school.

"Shit." She mumbled, slapping the steering wheel.

In the corner of her eye, she swore that she saw Haru jump in the backseat. She blinked back a few more tears as the memory of the night before flooding back to her, crushing over her like a wave.

"_I can't believe you, Haru!"_

_Shizuru shouted as Haru jumped from his seat on the couch and tried to run to his room. She ran after him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him back. He shrieked as she began to spank him, shocking everyone in the room. Kuwabara stood up, running to his sister to pull her away from Haru._

"_Shizuru! Shizuru, stop!" He pleaded, grabbing her by her shoulder._

"_You started another fire, Haru! You got into another fight!"_

"_Ow, mom!" Haru sobbed, trying to break free from her grip. "Mom, I'm sorry!"_

"_Let go of him, sis! Stop!"_

_Sumi began bawling as Yusuke stared in shock at the scene happening in the living room. Hiei stepped out of the bathroom, turning the light off. His eyes widened when he saw Shizuru spanking their son and Kuwabara trying to get her away from him. His eyes narrowed in a murderous rage as he rushed towards them and shoved Shizuru hard, ripping Haru from her grip._

"_What the hell do you think you're doing to my son?" Hiei shouted at her face. "What makes you think that you can put your hands on him like that?"_

_Shizuru gasped and her eyes widened as Hiei shoved her hard against the wall. For second, she seemed as if she hadn't known what she had done or even knew what going on right then. She glared at him and shoved him back twice as hard._

"_Your son set a kid on fire today! His teacher thinks he has behavior problems! She's thinking of suspending him!" She screamed at him._

"_Guys, stop! Stop!" Kuwabara begged, trying to push them away from each other._

_Haru ran to Yusuke and jumped into his lap. Sumi did the same and the two sobbed in fear as Yusuke held them tightly. He didn't know what to do; he had never seen Shizuru and Hiei so angry at each other like that before. He was shaking; he was actually a little scared. Kuwabara tried to pull Shizuru away from Hiei but she pushed him off._

"_Stay out of this, Kazuma!" She screamed at him, her face flushing._

_Sumi and Haru continued to cry as they covered their ears with their hands, trying to huddle together and pushing themselves against Yusuke for protection. Shizuru and Hiei screamed at each other, their fight the night before just a small argument in comparison._

"_Why don't you go find your other boyfriend, Shizuru?" Hiei hissed, shoving her again. "I saw you today with him!"_

"_You were spying on me, you jealous insecure freak!" She screamed back. "What I do in my life is my business and my business only!"_

"_I think that, as your partner, I deserve to know what you do!"_

"_You controlling little prick!"_

_Hiei shoved Shizuru against the wall again, growling. He raised a fist and pulled it back, a malicious look on his face. He was suddenly thrown to the ground, being tackled from the side. He rolled over onto his, feeling a two hundred pound weight straddling him. He looked up through one eye to see Kuwabara on top of him, pinning Hiei's wrists down by his head. There were tears in the bigger man's eyes and a furious look on his face._

"_Stop it!" Kuwabara screeched, emphasizing his words by slamming Hiei's wrists against the carpeted floor. "Stop it right now, that's enough! Don't you dare put your hands on her like that! Don't you know what your guys' fighting is doing?"_

_The room was silent except for the sound of Shizuru breathing heavily, the twins sobbing. Everyone could feel their heartbeats banging in their heads. Hiei broke free from Kuwabara's grip and shoved the bigger man off of him, sending him to the floor. Kuwabara sat up as Hiei stepped over him, going to the door. Hiei turned and glared at Shizuru, who looked at him wide eyed with fear._

"_I'm leaving and I'm not coming back." He said, slowly yet clearly._

_He turned back to the door and opened it. He stepped out but stopped when he felt hands grabbing him by his pant leg. He looked down to see Haru clinging to his leg; his eyes wide as tears spilled down his chubby cheeks._

"_No!" He blubbered, a fat tear rolling down his cheek. "You can't go! You promised you wouldn't leave again, dad! You promised!"_

_Hiei stared down at his son, his eyes widening. Haru clutched Hiei's leg, digging his nails into his father's leg._

"_You promised you wouldn't leave again, dad! Don't go!"_

_Yusuke reached over the couch and pulled Haru away from Hiei. Haru thrashed around, crying and reaching out to Hiei as he left the apartment._

"_Dad, don't leave!"_

_Hiei slammed the door behind him and flitted off. Kuwabara got up and put a hand gently on his older sister's shoulder. Shizuru turned to him, a frantic and worried look on her face._

"_You okay?" He asked. "You okay, sis?"_

_She nodded and let him wrap his arms around her in a hug as she started crying. He rubbed her back, looking at Yusuke who had the twins sitting on his lap. Yusuke's chest was heaving and he looked shaken up._

"_You okay, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked, letting go of his sister and walking over to his friend and niece and nephew._

"_Yeah," Yusuke nodded. "Just a little freaked out, but I'm . . . okay."_

_Kuwabara scooped up Sumi in his arms and held her close, rocking her and trying to soothe and calm her down._

"_It's okay, princess, it's okay."_

_Shizuru went to Haru and put her hand on his small back. He jerked away from her, hissing and glaring at her._

"_I hate you!" He screamed at her. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"_

_Haru fled from the living room to his room, slamming the bedroom door behind him repeatedly._

Shizuru sat in the parking lot for a moment, staring at nothing. She let a single tear ski down her face then wiped it away. She turned to her children in the backseat and faked a happy smile.

"Hey, guys. You ready for school?"

The twins didn't answer; they just unbuckled and tugged on their jackets. They got out of the car and walked towards the school. Shizuru sighed deeply then got out of the car, following her children into their classroom. She had already apologized to her children profusely. She had even cried in front of them as she apologized for what had happened between her and their father and for spanking Haru. Sumi had forgiven her, but Haru still claimed to hate her and wouldn't talk to her.

She smiled at Miss Ito as the family of three walked into the classroom. Miss Ito approached her, giving her signature friendly smile. Shizuru kissed Sumi on the cheek and watched as a little boy with a bandage on his nose ran up to her daughter and thrust a cupcake to her, a blush on his face. The boy hooked his arm with Sumi's and walked her away from Shizuru, Miss Ito and Haru.

"Let's talk outside, shall we?" Miss Ito asked.

Shizuru reached for Haru's hand but he jerked away, following his teacher out of the classroom. She blinked back a few more tears then sighed deeply.

Haru sat by the door of the classroom, listening to his mother and teacher talk in soft voice. He missed his father and wished his father would be at home when school got out. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hoped that his father would pick him up earlier from school and take him away somewhere, away from his mother.

"Haru?" Shizuru said softly. "Do you have anything to say?"

Haru glared at her then looked up at Miss Ito.

"I won't fight anymore and I won't make anymore fires."

"I just don't understand how he does it!" Miss Ito said breathlessly, shaking her head. "I thought that pyrokinesis was just something in science fiction novels!"

"It's all so hard to explain," Shizuru forced a smile as she picked at her fingernails. "I don't think you would believe the half of it."

Hiei tossed one of Kurama's colorful pillows into the air and stabbed at it with his katana. He had missed it; Shizuru wouldn't allow it in the house with the children around so he had to leave it with Kurama. Feathers flew around the room, floating in the air and laying scattered on the floor. The door opened and Kurama walked in. He stopped suddenly and his hand flew to his chest, his eyes wide.

"Hiei!" He gasped. "My pillows!"

Hiei sat on his friend's bed, his arms crossed over his chest and tiny white feathers stuck in his hair. He grunt and crossed his legs, blowing a feather away from his face. Kurama closed the door and picked up a torn purple pillow sham from the floor, letting out a horrified gasp. He shook it in Hiei's face, his delicately plucked red eyebrows bunching in frustration.

"This was an ancient Kashmir purple velvet pillow from the beginning of the 14th century!"

"Hn." Hiei watched Kurama pick up the torn pillows; feathers fluttering around the redhead and making him look like a molting angel. "Why do you have so many little pillows, Kurama? You only need one to sleep with."

"They are not 'little pillows', Hiei!" Kurama stood and swatted a few feathers away from his face. "They are decorative throw pillows!"

"So, you don't sleep with them?"

Kurama let out an irritated groan and smacked his friend in the face with a torn crimson velvet pillow sham.

"They are for _decoration_, Hiei! Of course, you don't sleep with them!"

"Well, that's just ridiculous! Why would you spend precious time, money and space on –"

"Leave my decorative throw pillows alone!" Kurama interjected, grabbing fully intact crimson velvet pillow from his bed and hugging it to his chest. "They're like my own children."

Hiei stared at Kurama, an eyebrow quirked. Kurama blinked, looking at his short friend.

"What?"

"Another reason as to why you are single, Kurama."

Kurama scrunched up his face and smacked Hiei in the face with the pillow playfully. He sat down next to Hiei, bouncing the bed slightly.

"So, what happened?"

"You said I could stay at your place whenever I wanted, Kurama, no questions asked."

"I know, but . . . please. I know something's wrong, maybe I could help."

"You can't."

"You know I could. Or at least try."

Hiei sighed and squirmed, flopping back onto the bed and sending the scattered feathers on the bed flying up into the air. Kurama lied down next to him, sighing deeply. The two of them stared up at the glow in the dark butterflies that decorated Kurama's ceiling.

"What are you, Kurama?" Hiei asked a moment later. "A thousand year old fox demon or a damn twelve year old girl?"

"Oh, hush. At night, they're beautiful." Kurama sighed. "So, tell me what's going on, Hiei."

"Shizuru and I had another fight, a horrible one. In front of the children and Kuwabara and Yusuke . . ."

"Goodness, what happened?"

"Haru started another fire at school yesterday and got into a fight with three other boys. Shizuru came home and spanked him, and then we started fighting. We were screaming at each other and I . . . I almost hit her."

"Hiei." Kurama sat up, propping himself up with his hands. "What did you do?"

"Kuwabara tackled me."

"I don't understand why you would almost hit your partner over disciplining your child. I'm not saying that spanking is a _good_ way to discipline a child, but . . . Was there something else that was bothering you?"

"I saw her with another man." Hiei mumbled.

"What where they doing?"

"Eating lunch."

Kurama chuckled, moving his long red hair out of his face and picking feathers from it.

"That doesn't seem so bad, it's not like they were kissing or anything."

"She was so close to him, so close . . ."

"Hiei, maybe he was just a friend. We both know – well, actually, everybody knows – that Shizuru is not the type of woman to cheat on her lover. The Kuwa-"

"Yeah, yeah. The Kuwabaras aren't like that."

"Hiei, you sound jealous. I think you might be reading a little too much into the situation. I'm sure that they were just old friends catching up over lunch, nothing to worry about."

"I knew you would say something like that."

"He might not even feel that way towards her, he might be –"

"Gay?"

"Well . . . yes."

"Kurama . . ."

"Hm?"

"Shut up."

Haru sat on the swing next to his sister, watching her swing back and forth. Her hair bobbed against her back, as she swung higher and higher. Ryo stood on the other side of Sumi, hugging the pole that supported the swings and smiling goofily at her. Haru made a face at his new friend; Ryo had told everyone in the classroom that Sumi and he were boyfriend and girlfriend. Sumi had been out of the room when he announced it; she had been in the bathroom. She seemed so oblivious to it all.

"Sumi, play Barbies with us!" A little girl called, waving at Sumi.

Sumi jumped off the swing, landing on her feet like a cat. She smiled and waved at Haru and Ryo as she walked towards the girl. Ryo sat on the swing Sumi had vacated. The chains of the swings squeaked as the two boys swung slowly. They sighed together, their chests rising and falling in unison. Ryo grabbed onto the chains of his swing and leaned back, looking at Haru.

"Are we friends now?" He asked.

"I guess so." Haru answered, kicking up dirt.

The boys were quiet for a moment, watching Sumi and her friends playing with Barbies in the sandbox. Haru scrunched his face up, grabbing the chains of his swing and starting to swing.

"Girls are gross."

"Sumi's a girl."

"Well, that's different!"

"How?"

"She's my sister!"

The two boys swung together, going back and forth at the same time.

"She's still a girl." Ryo pointed out. "My mom gave me a Sno Ball for lunch today."

"Sumi hates coconut." Haru grinned at his friend as he stopped his swing. "But I love coconut."

"You want it?" Ryo stopped his swing and pushed his hair out of his face.

"Sure."

Miss Ito opened the sliding glass door that lead into the classroom from the playground and stepped outside, smiling. She rang the bell in her hand and all the children stopped what they were doing to look at her.

"Okay, children!" She chirped. "Time to come in from recess!"

The children stampeded into the classroom, pushing passed Miss Ito. Haru and Ryo walked side by side, in step with each other as they walked away from the swings to the classroom. Kiyoshi and the two brunette boys that followed him glared at Haru and Ryo as they walked into the classroom. The new friends stuck their tongues out at the three boys then sat down at their tables.

"Okay, children." Miss Ito clapped her hands as she smiled at her class. "Tomorrow we're going to do something a little different. We're going to have Show and Tell."

"What's that?" A boy asked.

"Well, it's when you bring something from home that is special to you and you tell the class about it."

The kids excitedly murmured to each other, talking about what they were thinking of bringing into class the next day. Haru rolled his eyes then leaned his tiny chair back, leaning against Ryo who sat behind him.

"What're you going to bring, Haru?" Ryo asked, turning around to look at his friend.

"I dunno yet. I might not bring anything."

"Why not? Show and Tell sounds cool." Ryo leaned back in his chair, the back of his chair touching the back of Haru's. "I'm gonna bring in my remote control car! It's red and it has a black scorpion on it and it does flips!"

Haru put his chair back down on all four legs and turned around to look at Ryo.

"Really? Is it that new one that just came out?"

"Yeah!" Ryo sat his chair down and turned around, putting his hands on the back of his chair. "My brother got it for me for my birthday last week."

"Lucky!"

"You can play with it tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Ryo smiled jokingly at Haru. "Just don't set it on fire."

Shizuru's hands kept shaking, she wasn't getting her job done right. She had cut a huge chuck of hair off of a woman who had come in just for a few inches trimmed. The woman had seen the chunk of hair in Shizuru's hand when she heard her hairstylist gasp from behind her.

"I can fix it!" Shizuru had stated, her words rushing together. "I really can, I'm so sorry! I can make it into an A-line, it'll look great!"

The woman had groaned and cursed before reluctantly agreeing to have Shizuru fix her butchered hair into a cute A-line. Shizuru had tried her best to finish up and forget about everything that had happened the night before. The woman left twenty minutes later, still a bit agitated with Shizuru but glad that her hair actually did look very cute.

Shizuru slumped into the chair that the woman had just vacated, making her cheeks puff out as she sighed deeply through her mouth. She got up a few minutes later and went to the backroom to grab her purse.

"I'm taking a break." She said to her boss. "I'll be back in five minutes, I swear."

"Just take your lunch break, Shizuru." The longhaired woman answered, folding her arms under her chest. "Take as much time as you need. As a matter of fact, why don't you just take the rest of the day off?"

"Oh, but I only need five –"

"Shizuru, you've been working here for years. I like to think that the two of us are more like friends than we are employer and employee."

"But –"

"Go," The woman smiled as she gently pushed Shizuru towards the backdoor. "Go or you're fired."

Shizuru turned around to stare at her boss with wide scared eyes. Her boss laughed then pulled Shizuru into a hug.

"I'm just kidding, Shizuru!"

"Oh, ha . . ." Shizuru faked a smile before turning to walk to her car.

"Don't make this into an everyday thing!" Her boss called after her, a smile on her face. "Or I will have to let you go!"

Shizuru waved a goodbye at her boss as she drove off. She plucked her cell phone from her purse, keeping her eyes on the road. She leaned over to open the glove compartment and took out a slip of paper. Glancing at the numbers on the paper then at the road, she dialed the unfamiliar cell phone number. It rang twice before the person on the other side answered.

"Hello?" The husky velvety smooth voice said.

"Hey." She smiled sadly to herself as she drove.

"Shizuru?"

"Yeah, can I come over?"

"Of course! Is something wrong?"

"I'll explain everything when I get there. Can I get directions, please?"

Hiei sat on the roof of the building next to the school, watching his son and daughter playing with other children during their lunch recess. Sumi was playing with a group of girls by a play structure, giggling happily. Haru was off in a corner of the fenced in kindergarten playground with some boy. They were playing with sticks, swinging them around as if they were swords.

Hiei smiled to himself, seeing his son run around and laughing. He was glad that Haru wasn't treated like an outcast and had someone besides his twin sister to play with. Haru stopped what he was doing for a moment, his laughter stopping abruptly. He turned his head to the roof of the building his father was sitting on. Hiei gasped. He was sure that Haru saw him; he was looking right at him. The boy playing with Haru lowered the stick in his hands and said something to the short auburn flame-shaped haired boy. Haru turned back to the boy, lifting his stick back up as he stood in a fighting stance. Hiei watched as the two little boys went back to their pretend sword fight then flitted off.

The polished cherry oak door opened and Ataru stood in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. He wore black slacks and a loose burgundy long sleeved button up shirt with the first three buttons undone. His dark wavy hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that rested against the nape of his neck.

"Shizuru, are you all right?"

He moved out of the way to let her into his small apartment, his concerned look never leaving his face as he watched her. She came in and sat down on the dark green antique sofa by the window, taking off her jacket.

"I'm good, I just –"

"Would you like something to drink?" Ataru asked, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, please."

Ataru went into the kitchen, leaving Shizuru in the living room to fiddle and pick at her fingernails as she stared at the polished cherry oak coffee table. She blinked and looked around the apartment, taking it all in.

Across from her, against the wall next to the door where people would have their television and entertainment centers and stereos, was a large fish tank on a polished cherry oak double door fish cabinet. Colorful fish swam around, going in and out of a neon pink castle that took up almost half of the fish tank.

On the side of the fish tank was tall potted plant, its upper half curving slightly. There were two doors on Shizuru's left side; one was opened a jar and displayed a linoleum floor. Shizuru thought it had to be the bathroom, which lead her to believe that the closed door right next to her had to bed the bedroom. She shuddered lightly at the thought, goose bumps popping up on her skin.

"Would you like some wine?" Ataru asked from the kitchen.

"It's a little bit early for that kind of drinking, don't you think?" Shizuru asked, rubbing her arms.

Ataru chuckled, setting two wineglasses and a bottle of red wine on the kitchen counter. He rested his elbows on the counter and cupped his chin in his hands, looking at her lovingly.

"Yeah, but one glass of wine always calms me down when I'm upset."

"You wino."

"I just drink one!" He chuckled again, opening a drawer and taking out a bottle opener. "C'mon, one glass won't kill you."

"But I have to go back to work."

"You don't have to drink it all."

"Fine, one glass."

She smiled at him, crossing her legs and folding her jacket over the arm of the sofa. Ataru smiled at her, carrying the glasses of wine in each hand. He handed one to her then sat down. Shizuru took a little sip of her wine, watching a red fish zip back and forth in the fish tank. She licked her lips and pointed.

"What kind of fish is that?"

"Mm." Ataru set his glass down, scooting to the edge of the sofa. "That's a flame angel. That one's my favorite."

"It's beautiful." She took another sip of her wine, her eyes never leaving the fish tank.

"Not as beautiful at you." Ataru retorted, a smile on his face.

Shizuru gasped then looked at him, blushing. He chuckled then set his glass back down again. He turned to her, giving her all of his attention.

"So, what is bothering you so much that you had to call me almost in tears, begging to come over?"

"I wasn't begging." Shizuru licked her lips again, eyeing her wine. It was really good. "I've just had a bad day. My mind's been somewhere else today."

"What's wrong?"

"My . . . partner and I had a fight last night, in front our children and my brother and his friend. My son, uhm, got into some trouble at school and I spanked him. His father didn't like that way I disciplined Haru and we fought. Then he left and said he wasn't going to come back. Now, my son hates me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Shizuru."

Ataru leaned over and hugged Shizuru, being careful as to not spill her wine. She let out a slightly nervous laugh then broke away from the hug. She took a big gulp of her wine then set her glass down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ataru gave her a half smile. "Wine's not supposed to be gulped down like a cheap soda, it's supposed to be savored."

"Since when did you become a wine aficionado?"

Ataru chuckled and shrugged, smiling at her as he leaned back into the antique sofa. She sat back, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing deeply.

"It's sort of like common sense," He said softly, a smile in his voice. "Wine is something elegant and should be treated as such . . . a bit like you."

Shizuru blushed again and cleared her throat. She felt a little tipsy, that wine was so good. Ataru took her hand in his and brought it to his face. She watched, her mouth open slightly, as Ataru's lips brushed against her knuckles in a kiss. Her blush deepened and he lowered her hand and looked deep into her eyes. She put her hands on his chest, rubbing her palms against the soft silky fabric of his shirt. She clenched the fabric in her hands as she balled them up into fists, twisting his shirt. She pulled Ataru to her and squashed her lips against his. He groaned in surprise then leaned into her, putting his arms around her and deepening the kiss.

She wrapped her arms around him, pushing herself against him as he gently pushed tongue into her mouth. She smiled to herself as she tried to get closer to him, ached to get closer to him. She felt a chill run down her spine and she swore that somebody was watching them. Hiei's angry and hurt face flashed in her mind and she gasped, jerking away from her ex-boyfriend.

"What?" Ataru said breathlessly, his chest heaving. "What's wrong?"

"I can't . . . I can't do this." She said frantically, grabbing her jacket off the arm of the sofa. "I have to leave, I shouldn't be here."

"Shizuru, are you all right?" Ataru asked, watching her stand up and pull her jacket on. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just shouldn't be here."

She grabbed the doorknob and struggled to open the door; it just wouldn't open. Ataru got up from the couch and put an arm around Shizuru's waist, spinning her around. She gasped, looking up at him. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead as he unlocked the deadbolt on his door.

"If you ever need anything, Shizuru, just call me." He said softly, his velvety smooth voice calm.

She blinked a moment before smiling at him. He was just like Kurama; why were good looking gentlemen like Kurama and Ataru still single? She hugged him and let him kiss her on the cheek before leaving the apartment. She took the stairs, hoping that it would somehow get rid of her slight wine buzz.

Hiei had followed Shizuru from her work to the unfamiliar apartment building. He had watched her park her car right out front and run into the building as if her life depended on it. He had sat on the building across from the apartment building, staring right into the small living room of that man who he had seen Shizuru with the day before. He had gone unnoticed as they chatted and drank some dark red liquid. He had glared at the man as he kissed Shizuru's hand. He gasped when he saw Shizuru pull the man to her and kiss him deeply. He swore he heard the shattering sound of glass breaking when he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He groaned and bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. He flitted off, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He didn't see Shizuru jump away from the man and rush to the door.

He stopped outside Kurama's bedroom window and pounded on the glass, a look of anger and hurt on his face. Kurama looked up from his work on his desk and turned his attention to the window. He stood up from his swiveling desk chair and strode over to the window, heaving it open.

"Hiei? What're you –"

"She kissed him!" He shouted, pushing Kurama out of the way and jumping into the room. "I saw her _kiss_ him, Kurama!"

"Kiss who, Hiei?" Kurama closed the window, watching Hiei pace around the room.

Hiei's eyes twitched and he slammed his fist into Kurama's bedroom wall, leaving a hole the size of his fist. Kurama gasped and grabbed Hiei's by the shoulder, spinning him around.

"What the hell do you think you're do – Hiei?"

Hiei's bottom lip quivered and his eyes watered over. Kurama gasped, covering his mouth with his hand and taking a step back away from his black-clad friend.

"Hiei, are you –"

"No!"

Hiei wiped his face with the back of his sleeve again then balled his hands into fists, turning around to punch the wall again. Kurama grabbed Hiei's forearms from behind, pulling them back.

"Stop punching my wall, Hiei." He said sternly in his friend's ear. "I know you're angry, but destroying my things isn't going to make anything better."

Hiei seemed to calm down a bit, relaxing. Kurama loosened his grip on Hiei's arms, unsure. Hiei pulled his leg back and kicked a hole in the wall.

"Hiei!" Kurama threw Hiei away from the wall, making him land on the bed. "I said stop it, damn it!"

Hiei curled up into a ball, letting out a whimper like a hurt puppy. Kurama sat down next to him, moving the hair out of Hiei's face. Hiei jerked away from his friend's touch and rolled over to face the wall.

"I can't _believe_ her!" Hiei whispered, thumping his fingers against the wall an inch away from his face. "I just can't believe her."

"Now, Hiei, there has to be a reasonable explana –"

"There is no 'reasonable explanation', Kurama!" Hiei hissed, turning to glare at Kurama. "I _saw_ her _kiss_ him, _with my own eyes!_"

"Hiei, calm down. I don't want any more holes in my walls."

"I have to leave, Kurama. I can't stay here anymore."

"I didn't say you had to leave, Hiei! You can stay here as long as you like."

"That's not what I mean, Kurama. I can't stay in human world anymore."

"You can't – but, Hiei! The children!"

"I can't be anywhere that woman anymore."

"So, you're abandoning your children? They'll be devastated. I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to do that."

"I'm _not _abandoning them."

"Hiei, you're not thinking clearly. You need to calm down."

Hiei groaned and flopped back down on the bed, his head landing on Kurama's pillow. He stared up at the big blue butterfly on the ceiling above the bed. Hiei kicked at Kurama until he got up, his hands on his hips.

"You know what always makes me feel better?" Kurama asked a few minutes later.

"Watching one of those horrid made for TV movies on _Lifetime_?"

"No . . . well, sometimes. But other times, I bake!"

"God _damn_ it, Kurama!" Hiei snapped as he at up, holding himself up with his elbows. "Why don't you just come out already? Good Lord, man, what the hell! You _bake_? What the fudge do you bake?"

"Fudge?"

"You bake fudge?"

"No, I just thought it was weird that you said 'fudge' but you had no problem with saying 'damn' or 'hell'."

"It's just a habit, I'm not allowed to cuss in front of the twins."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"Yeah . . . what were we talking about?"

"Me baking. And, by the way, I'm _not_ gay. I just haven't found the right girl yet."

"Okay, Kurama, whatever you say."

"You're such a dick." Kurama muttered, rolling his eyes as he went to the door. "Come on, let's go make some cupcakes."

"Oh, damn it!" Hiei jumped off the bed and followed Kurama. "Why can't we bake something manly?"

"Hiei . . ." Kurama stopped and stared at his short friend. "We're _baking_."

"Good point."

The two walked into the kitchen just as Kurama's mother was walking out. She smiled at them, looking surprised to see them.

"Oh, Suichi, when did Hiei get here? I've been in the kitchen the whole time and I didn't hear a knock at the door."

"He came in through my window." Kurama said matter-of-factly as he smiled at his mother.

"But we're on the fourth floor." She stared at Hiei, her eyes wide. "How would he –"

"Hiei used to be in the circus, he used to be an acrobat."

Kurama stifled a laugh as Hiei glared at him. Shiori stared at Hiei still in surprise, her lips parted slightly and her head to the side.

"Wow . . . that's amazing."

"Yes, but the circus was not a fun time for Hiei." Kurama smirked at his friend, patting him on the head. "They used to call him Hiei the Monkey Child."

Hiei balled his hands into fists, glaring up at Kurama. He wanted to elbow his friend in the stomach and wipe that damn smirk off of his face. His mother was still staring at him in awe.

"They used to make him wear a little brown Lycra full bodysuit with a long monkey-like tail and a hood with monkey ears attached to it. He would do back flips and cartwheels and when he did a good job, the audience would toss bananas at him."

"That's enough, Kurama!" Hiei snapped.

"It's a very sensitive subject, mother." Kurama said softly.

"Oh, well . . . I'll just leave you two alone." She gave Hiei and understanding smile then put her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that."

Hiei stared at her hand until she let go of him and left the kitchen. He looked up at Kurama, who was shaking uncontrollably and covering his mouth with his hands.

"I hate you." Hiei mumbled, shoving his friend hard in the stomach.

Kurama laughed out loud after making sure that his mother wasn't in earshot. He smacked Hiei on the back of the head then went to a cupboard. He took out a cake mix then preheated the oven. Hiei crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the oven.

"I was just having a little fun, Hiei."

"I thought that's why we were _baking_."

"No, baking is to make us feel better!"

"Hn."

"Can you get the eggs for me?" Kurama asked, crouching down to get a cupcake tin out of cupboard. "We need two or three."

Hiei grumbled under his breath as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed three eggs, being careful as to not crush them. He set them on the counter next to the cake mix, grimacing at the pink cake white frosting on the box.

"I think we need . . ." Kurama grabbed the box, reading the back as he opened a cabinet above his head and took out a large bowl. "Vegetable oil."

He opened another cabinet and took out the vegetable oil and a liquid measuring cup. He nodded to himself, reading something on the back of box, then filled the measuring cup with water, stopping at the appropriate mark. He cracked the eggs, watching the yolk drop into the large bowl. He added the ingredients into the bowl then thrust the bowl at Hiei, a smile on his face.

"Mix that!" Kurama grabbed a wooden spoon and handed it to him. "Take your anger out on the batter!"

Hiei blinked, taking the spoon from the should-be underwear model redhead. Kurama kept his smile on his face, his head to the side.

"Don't break that spoon!" He turned back to another cupboard and took out a can of white frosting. "Did you want sprinkles?"

"What?"

Kurama shook the small container of red sprinkles at Hiei as if it were a maraca. Hiei shrugged and began to mix everything in the bowl.

"I don't care."

"I want sprinkles."

"Damn it, Kurama." Hiei stopped mixing and waved the spoon at Kurama. "I don't want to do this, it's not going to make me feel better. I feel terrible. How could she –"

"Ba, ba, ba!" Kurama wagged a finger at Hiei. "Take everything out on the batter!"

"'Ba'? What the hell, Kurama? When did you turn into a sheep?"

"Hush, little man, and mix that shit!"

Hiei's eyes widened at Kurama's little outburst. Kurama gasped and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Oh!" He took a quarter out of his pocket and plopped it in a jar on a small shelf above the kitchen sink. "Swear jar! Hey, I'm in the mood for a musical! Is it all right if we listen to the 'Evita' soundtrack?"

Shizuru had made it home safely, without getting pulled over by a cop. She had called her brother and asked him to pick her children up after school. She had taken a shower, scrubbing her body with a body wash as if to get rid of the feeling of Ataru's hands on her. She had put on a pair of clean pajamas then flopped onto her bed and cried, eventually falling asleep.

She woke up a few hours later, the sun setting outside her bedroom window. She scratched her head, blinking. She gasped, thinking that she had forgotten to pick up the twins. She ran from her room to see Kuwabara and Yusuke sitting at each end of the couch, the twins sitting in between them. The four on the couch stared at Shizuru as if they were deer caught in headlights. Kuwabara smiled at her.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

"Whatimezit?" Shizuru mumbled, scratching her head again.

She cleared her throat and blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light in the living room.

"It's like almost seven thirty." Kuwabara answered, glancing at his watch. "I made dinner."

"Thank you." She smiled at the twins. "Hey, sweeties."

Sumi smiled at Shizuru and jumped off the couch to hug her. Haru gave her glance, barely acknowledging her. Shizuru's smile faded and she looked down at her daughter, who was tugging at her pajama pants' leg.

"Mommy, tomorrow we're having Show and Tell!"

"Oh, really? What're you going to bring in?"

"I don't know yet!" She smiled up at her mother.

"How about that My Little Pony your uncles Kazuma and Yusuke got you for your birthday last year?"

"Yeah!"

"Haru, what're you going to take?"

Haru ignored her, watching the television. Shizuru said his name a few more times until he sighed and got off the couch.

"Where ya goin', kid?" Yusuke asked.

"Bed!" Haru answered, walking passed Shizuru to go to his room.

The rest watched him and flinched when he slammed the door behind him. Shizuru picked Sumi up and carried her over to the couch, placing her in between Kuwabara and Yusuke. She left the living room and knocked lightly on the twins' bedroom door. Not waiting for an answer, she opened the door and walked in, turning the light on. Haru groaned and covered his head with his pillow.

"Turn the light off!" He mumbled into the pillowcase.

"No." She closed the door behind her and took the pillow off of her son's face. "We need to talk, mister."

"I don't want to talk to you, I hate you!"

"Stop saying that, that hurts my feelings."

"It's true!"

"Why do you hate me, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me that, you made dad leave."

"Your father left on his own. He didn't mean it when he said he would never be back. He'll be back."

"When?"

"I don't know, but he'll be back."

"You're lying."

"I'm not, I swear. Please, don't hate me anymore, sweetheart."

Haru was quiet for a moment then sat up, cross-legged. He looked at her with wide curious and sad eyes.

"Why'd you spank me, mom?"

"I was really angry, baby, and I'm so sorry. It will never happen again."

"It really hurt, mom."

"I know, baby. I used to get spank when I was little, too."

"By who?"

"By my dad."

"Why did he do that? Were you bad?"

"No, honey."

She blinked as she remembered her childhood and then thought of Hiei leaving came to her. She sniffled, a tear falling from her eye. Haru crawled over to her and cupped her face in his small hands.

"I'm sorry, mommy." He said softly. "I don't hate you, I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

She pulled him onto her lap and hugged him tightly. Haru pulled away slightly, giggling.

"Mom, I can't breathe!"

"Don't cry for me, Argentina!" Kurama sang, waltzing around the kitchen with a broom. "The truth is I never left you!"

"All through my bad days!" Hiei sang, dancing by the oven. "My mad existence!"

"I kept my promise!" The two sang together, Kurama using the broom as a microphone as Hiei used the wooden spoon. "Don't keep your distance!"

The egg timer dinged and the two stopped singing, staring at the oven. Kurama clapped his hands then grabbed a pair of oven mitts.

"The cupcakes are done!"

Kurama opened the oven and took the hot cupcakes out. He turned around to show Hiei their creation, lifting his head up. He opened his mouth to speak when nothing but a gasp came out.

"Hiei?" He asked. "Are you all right?"

Hiei sat on the ground, his back against the side of the refrigerator with his legs pulled up to his chest. His head was down, touching his knees. He was sniffling. Kurama set the cupcakes down on the counter and went to Hiei's side, putting his hand on his friend's back. Hiei jerked his head up and looked at Kurama.

"I miss her . . ." He said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I know you do, Hiei." Kurama sat down next to Hiei, putting his arm around him and pulling the shorter man into a hug.

"What's happened to me, Kurama?" Hiei chuckled. "I've changed . . . I'm so –"

"Different?"

"_Disgusting_."

"You're in love."

"Hn."

"Call her."

"What?"

"I said _call her_."

"No, she won't talk to me."

"Leave a message with Kuwabara."

"No, _he_ won't talk to me either."

"God damn it, Hiei, just try." Kurama got up. "I'll go get the phone, frost the cupcakes."

"But I don't want –"

"Frost the damn cupcakes!" Kurama snapped before he left the kitchen to get the phone.

"Jeez, what's got _your_ panties in a bunch?" Hiei mumbled as he got up to frost the cupcakes.

"Leave my panties alone, Hiei!" Kurama called from the living room.

"What?" Shiori's voice from the hall surprised them both.

"Oh, nothing, mother!" Kurama answered.

Hiei snickered as lathered the frosting onto the cupcakes then covered them completely in sprinkles. Kurama came back into the kitchen with the phone at his ear.

"Hey, Kuwabara, it's Kurama." He said in his cool calm voice. "Is Shizuru there? Hiei wants to talk to her."

Hiei turned to Kurama, shaking his head frantically and mouthing the word 'no' over and over again. Kurama made a face at him, sticking his tongue out at him. His expression changed a minute later.

"She's asleep?" He said into the phone. "Would you tell her he wanted to talk? Kuwabara . . . he's sorry. You know your sister was in the wrong, too. Hey . . . hey! Now, stop it. Just tell her he wanted to talk, all right? Yeah, he'll be here. Bye."

Kurama hung up the phone and rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly. He snatched up a cupcake and ate half of it in one bite. He smiled at Hiei and gave him a thumb up.

"It's good." He mumbled through a full mouth, his hand covering his mouth. "Try one."

"So, she's not going to talk to me?"

"Kuwabara said she was asleep. He's a little mad at the both of you, you for almost hitting his sister and her for spanking Haru. He was ranting and – bleh." Kurama waved a hand in the air, flipping the words he was going to say away. "He said that if she wakes up tonight then he'd have her call."

"God . . ." Hiei grabbed a cupcake and nibbled at it. "Do you have anymore cake mix?"

Sumi skipped into the classroom, clutching a blue My Little Pony doll in her arms. She played with the pink tail nervous as she sat down next to a girl at her table. Sumi looked at the girl then at the tiara in front of her.

"Wow, that's pretty!" Sumi gasped. "How did you get that?"

"I won second place in a beauty pageant." She girl said snottily, giving Sumi a proud look.

"Wow, I wanna be in a beauty pageant."

"I've been doing it and winning second place since I was two."

"Wow . . ." Sumi repeated once more, blinking. "You must not be that good if you keep getting second."

The girl's eyes widened then narrowed into angry little slits before getting up and going to a different table. Haru, Ryo and Sumi's friend, Ai, were the only other children that heard what she had said and started giggling. Sumi blinked, looking oblivious like her aunt Yukina. She looked at her brother and friends.

"What?" She asked. "What did I do?"

Haru poked at Ryo's remote control car on his friend's table, running his finger over the black scorpion painted on it. Ryo smiled at Haru and handed him the remote control. Haru looked up at Ryo, giving him a "are you sure?" look. Ryo nodded and picked up the car, flipping a switch on the bottom of it. Haru stared at the car curiously, moving the toggles and buttons of the control.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed.

"I know, huh?"

The boys watched as the car sped off of the table, doing a flip and landing back on its wheels. All the boys in the classroom stopped what they were doing and watched the car zigzag around the room, making a buzzing sound.

"Whoa!"

"Okay, class!" Miss Ito jogged into the room, ringing the bell in her hand and jumped over the car as it zipped passed her. "Show and Tell – who wants to go first?"

Sumi fiddled the tail of her pony, looking at the white scratches on it's head from when she had been throwing it up into the air and it kept hitting the wall. She didn't pay very much attention to the children who got up in front of the class and told them about what they had brought it; all she could think about was that beautiful sparkling tiara that girl had and how much she wanted one.

Shizuru had called in sick, begging her boss for a few days off. Her boss had been quiet on the other line then sighed deeply, agreeing to let Shizuru have two days off.

"I want you to work this weekend, though!" Her boss said, a smile in her voice. "Take care of yourself, Shizuru. Bye."

She held onto the phone for a moment, listening to the dial tone before hanging it up. She flopped back down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, sighing deeply. She missed Hiei and she felt a sharp pain in her heart when she thought about him. She sniffled as new tears began to well up in her eyes. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball, holding onto her pillows as she cried. She cried so much that it was starting to hurt her. She was crying so loudly that she didn't hear the front door open or the knock at her bedroom door or the door creak open.

"Hey, babe – what's wrong?"

Shizuru looked up to see Botan standing in the door way, her arms crossed over her chest and resting most of her weight on her left foot. Shizuru wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as Botan walked over and plunked herself down next to her best friend on the bed, jostling her.

"Don't." Shizuru said softly, sitting up and breathing heavily. "I think I'm going to be sick . . ."

"What?" Botan put her hand on Shizuru's forehead. "You _do_ seem a little warm."

"No, get off." Shizuru slapped Botan's hand away from her face and jumped from the bed. "I'm going to throw up!"

"Oh, darn." Botan said softly as she watched Shizuru run to the bathroom. She flinched when she heard he best friend vomiting.

She got up and went to the bathroom. She leaned against doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched her friend vomit a few more times.

"Oh, darn." Botan said a bit louder than before.

Shizuru sat up and moved her hair out of her face. She looked at Botan, wiping her mouth with a piece of toilet paper. Botan's eyes widened as she realized something; Shizuru's face looked rounder, smoother. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped.

"Oh, darn!" She exclaimed through her fingers. "Shizuru . . .!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six! I think it might be a little slow at some parts and I'm sorry, you guys. It'll get better, I swear. You can probably tell that I didn't know how to end this chapter. Well, I'll stop blabbing and let you read. Enjoy!

* * *

Shizuru shook her head frantically as she flushed the toilet; the room smelled like throw up. She turned on the bathroom sink and wet her face then proceeded to brush her teeth. Botan sat on the sink's counter, watching Shizuru with a concerned look on her face.

"Stop it, Botan." Shizuru mumbled through a mouthful of toothpaste, giving her friend a sideways glare. "Don't think that way."

"But you were just –"

"I was crying!" Shizuru spit into the sink then looked up and spoke to her reflection. "I was crying so much that I made myself sick, that's all there is to it."

"But, Shizuru –"

"Botan, stop it." Shizuru said sternly, rising off her toothbrush. "I'm not . . . I can't be . . ."

"You can't be what?"

Botan and Shizuru turned to see Keiko standing there. Her head was to the side, her hair in the classic pigtails that she hadn't worn since she was fourteen. The two in the bathroom were very surprised to see her in the doorway.

"Keiko!" Botan gasped, smiling. "Where have _you_ been?"

"I don't know, I guess I wasn't needed or something." She shrugged, smiling at the older women. "So, what's going on?"

"What're you doing here?"

"I was looking for Yusuke and I thought he might be here, the door was open so I decided to come in. I needed to talk to you guys, anyway." Keiko looked from Botan to Shizuru, an uneasy smile on her face as she repeated herself. "So, what's going on?"

"Shizuru might be –"

"No, I'm not!" Shizuru snapped, grabbing a hairbrush from the counter and raising it threateningly at Botan, who yelped and cowered.

Shizuru sighed and began to brush her hair quickly into a high ponytail. Keiko looked at Botan, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Botan shrugged and opened her mouth to speak when Shizuru whipped around, startling the other two women.

"I am not, I repeat, I _am_ _not pregnant_!" She said in a low, stern voice as she pointed at them. "Don't spread that stuff around, you guys."

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I . . . think I might be." Keiko said softly, tapping her index fingers together and avoiding Shizuru and Botan's wide stares.

"Keiko Yukimura!" Botan gasped, latching onto Keiko and pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh, my god! This is so exciting!"

Shizuru stared at Keiko, her eyes skimming across her younger friend's face. She _did_ seem a little bit like Shizuru did when she was pregnant. Keiko had a bittersweet look on her face as she stared back at Shizuru, patting Botan on the back. Botan pulled away then looked from Keiko to Shizuru, her wide grin on her face.

"Oh, my God, isn't this wonderful?"

"You take a test yet?" Shizuru asked, not taking her eyes off of Keiko.

"No, not yet." Keiko shook her head. "I can't stand this morning sickness, I've been trying to hide it from Yusuke but . . . God, Shizuru, how did _you_ do it?"

"Just grin and bear it, babe." Shizuru licked her lips; they felt so dry all of a sudden. "Even if you have to wait nine long months, it's all so worth it."

Botan grabbed Shizuru and Keiko by their arms, squeezing softly and gasping. The two brunettes looked at the cheery angel of death in surprise.

"You guys have to take pregnancy tests!"

"Botan, I'm not –"

"It doesn't hurt to take it just in case." Botan interjected. "How long have you been feeling this way?"

"Just today, Botan, I'm not pregnant."

"Just do it in case, okay? It'll make _me_ feel better."

"God, Botan, when did you become such a mom?"

"I'm an aunt! I've been around those kids since before they were born, your maternal instinct must have rubbed off on me."

"She moves her body like a cyclone!" Kuwabara's deep voice sang from the living room. "And she makes me wanna do it all night long!"

"Going hard when they turn the spotlights on!" Yusuke's higher voice sang after Kuwabara's. "Because she moves her body like a cyclone!"

"A might cyclone!" The two sang together.

"Hey, why's the bathroom light on?"

Kuwabara appeared in the doorway, a confused look on his face. He smiled at the three women, giving them a small wave. Yusuke peered over Kuwabara's thick shoulder and grinned.

"Hey, party in the bathroom!" He joked. "What's going on, guys?"

"We were just . . . talking." Shizuru said, shooting a look at Botan.

"Yes . . . talking." Botan answered.

Keiko nodded, avoiding eye contact with Yusuke. The young men tilted their heads to the side, looking like confused puppies.

"What're you talking about in the bathroom?"

"Girl stuff." Shizuru said sternly. "You don't want to know."

"Ew!" The young men said in unison, turning to each other and mirroring the disgusted grimace on the other's face. "We're outta here."

"Yeah, we'll be back in a few hours."

"Can you pick up the twins, Kazuma?" Shizuru asked as she, Botan and Keiko followed Kuwabara and Yusuke out of the bathroom.

"Sure. You not feelin' good or what?" Kuwabara asked, turning back to his sister.

She shrugged and faked a smile.

"Yeah, I'm a little sick."

"Jeez, sis." He gave her a half smile then hugged her tightly, kissing on the forehead. "Feel better!"

Yusuke flicked his two-finger salute wave at the women, blowing a kiss at Keiko and making her blush before he and Kuwabara left. The three women looked at each other, sighing deeply.

"So, are you . . .?" Botan trailed off, looking up at Shizuru.

"It wouldn't hurt to just to make sure." Shizuru shrugged, sighing.

Hiei sat in his tree, a content look on his face. He hadn't been there in so long; he had missed it. He winced as a branch jabbed him in the back. He growled and snapped the branch off, flinging it to the ground. Why, exactly, did he miss the tree? Branches stabbing him in the back weren't something he had missed. He reclined, relaxing and getting comfortable as the tree cradled him. He was drifting off to sleep when he heard a bird chirp by his ear. He opened an eye to look in the direction of the chirping bird; it was right next to him. He opened his other to see the mother bird perched on a small branch next to a little nest; two little chirping baby birds inside. He watched as the mother bird fed the babies. He blinked as another bird swooped down and landed next to the mother bird. The mother bird nuzzled against the other bird as the both of them cooed.

Hiei sighed and resisted the urge to shake the birds and nest from the branch. His tree had replaced him. He jumped from the tree and flitted around aimlessly, watching the sunset.

Shizuru loved watching the sunsets with him, their fingers entwined as they sat and watch the sky change colors; red-orange and gold turning into a deep violet and dark blue, dotted with the first stars. She would give his hand a squeeze then he would lean over and kiss her gently behind the ear, smiling when she would laugh softly.

He growled at the thought of her but stopped when something caught his eye. Three very familiar women were leaving a drugstore, the one in the middle carrying a small brown bag in her hand. He crouched down on the roof of the building to get a better look at them, going unnoticed.

Botan waved the brown bag in her hand, looking from Shizuru to Keiko.

"So, who's going first?"

"Jesus Christ, Botan, keep your voice down." Shizuru mumbled, unwrapping a blue Blow-Pop and shoving into her mouth.

The Blow-Pop was to satisfy her cigarette craving – and because she hadn't one in years. It was better than just gnawing on a piece of gum for hours until it lost its flavor. She held the stick of the Blow-Pop in between her pointer and middle finger, like she would a cigarette, twirling it occasionally.

Botan shrugged and looked at Keiko, putting an arm around the shoulders of the younger girl.

"Keiko, why don't you go first?" She asked, smiling widely. "You really want to know, right?"

"I don't know, Botan." Keiko sighed. "What if I'm just sick?"

"How long have you been throwing up every morning?" Shizuru interjected, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Well, about two weeks –"

"Two weeks?" Botan and Shizuru shouted, stopping to stare at the startled Keiko.

"You've been throwing up for two weeks –" Shizuru started.

"And Yusuke still doesn't suspect anything?" Botan finished.

"Well, yeah." Keiko shrugged. "It's Yusuke, you guys. And he's always with Kuwabara, he and I never have time together anymore."

"Those two _do_ seem to be border lining on an unhealthy relationship lately." Botan said softly, tapping a finger to her lips in thought.

"Yeah, they're like SpongeBob and Patrick."

Keiko and Botan stared at Shizuru, who just shrugged and smiled.

"What?" She chuckled. "I have kids!"

The three women shared a laugh and continued on their way back to Shizuru's apartment, unaware that Hiei was watching Shizuru.

Yusuke flicked the Wii controller in his hand, his eyebrows furrowing. He was losing the game to Kuwabara; he was distracted. Kuwabara won and began jumping up and down, whooping. He stopped to rub his victory in Yusuke's face but decided against it when he saw his friend's face.

"What's wrong with you, man?" He asked, scratching his head. "You constipated or something?"

"For your information, my internal plumbing is not clogged." Yusuke flopped down onto the green beanbag chair in front of the television. "What do you think the girls were talking about?"

"I dunno, they said 'girl stuff'." Kuwabara sunk into the white beanbag next to Yusuke's. "Why?"

"I think something's going on with Keiko." He said softly. "She's been actin' so weird lately."

"You ask her what's wrong?"

"No, she doesn't seem like she wants to talk to me." Yusuke shrugged and looked back at his friend, smirking. "That's why I just spend my time with you."

"Yeah, I'm like the Patrick to your SpongeBob."

"That you are, my friend, that you are."

The young men sat in silence for a moment, unaware that they both had insulted each other. Kuwabara nodded at nothing then smacked Yusuke in the chest.

"Ow, what the hell?" Yusuke rubbed the spot on his chest, looking confused at Kuwabara. "Gah, what's wrong with you?"

"Did you ever notice . . ." Kuwabara said softly. "That your beanbag chairs look like those minty Skittles?"

"Dude!" Yusuke gasped, smacking Kuwabara in the face. "That's so fuckin' true, they do! Whatever happened to those Skittles, anyway?"

"I dunno, they always seem to discontinue all the good things." Kuwabara mumbled.

"Yeah . . . hey! Did you ever drink Pepsi Blue?"

"Hells yeah, I did!" The clock on the cable box caught Kuwabara's attention. "Shit! We gotta pick up the kids!"

The two jumped up and ran from the apartment, jumping into Kuwabara's white compact car.

Keiko walked out of the bathroom, the bittersweet look on her face again. She shrugged, lifting up the pregnancy test. Botan squealed and hugged Keiko tightly, the sight all too familiar to Shizuru. She sulked into the old couch, twirling the Blow-Pop in her mouth. Botan broke away from Keiko and looked at Shizuru, smiling at her.

"You're turn, sweetheart."

"This is ridiculous!" Shizuru mumbled as she got up from the couch and went to the bathroom.

"Just humor me and do it." Botan said patting her friend on the shoulder as she walked passed. Botan turned back to Keiko. "So, what're you going to tell Yusuke?"

"I don't know. I don't want to tell him yet." She fidgeted, fiddling with a pigtail. "I just don't feel like it's the right time to tell him."

"Oh, but he's going to be so _happy_!"

The two chatted for a few minutes, waiting for Shizuru.

Shizuru slammed her fist down onto the bathroom counter, shaking. Her hair hung in her face as she stared at nothing in the sink. She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. She opened her eyes a few seconds later, hoping that the results on the pregnancy test had changed. Nope. Nothing. Just a little. Pink. Plus sign. A little pink plus sign that seemed to be taunting her.

"_Ha-ha, ha-ha!"_ The Pink Plus Sign taunted in a little girl's voice. "_You're pregnant again and Hiei's not here! Ha-ha!_"

"Shut up." She said softly through grit teeth. "Shut up, shut up, shut _up_!"

"Are you okay in there?"

Shizuru jumped when she heard Botan's concerned voice and a knock on the bathroom door. She opened the door a jar and mumbled, staring into her friend's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine . . . I just need a minute."

"You okay?"

"God damn it." Shizuru flung the door open all the way and thrust the pregnancy test at Botan. "You were right."

"I always am, aren't I?"

Kurama rolled over onto his side, snoring softly in his sleep. He smiled, enjoying his dream. Hiei rolled over in his sleep, facing Kurama's back. He put an arm around his tall friend, spooning with him. Kurama smiled again in his sleep, taking Hiei's hand and entwining his fingers with his short friend's. He brought the hand up to his face and kissed the knuckles.

"Oh, Jem . . ." Kurama mumbled, a dreamy smile on his face. "You are outrageous . . . truly, truly outrageous."

Hiei let go of Kurama's hand and rested his own hand against his friend's bare stomach, rubbing softly. Kurama giggled in his sleep.

"Jem! You naughty girl!"

"Hn." Hiei mumbled in his sleep and kissed at the back of Kurama's neck. "I love you, Shizuru."

Kurama's eyes snapped open and he gasped, pushing Hiei away from him. He sat up and turned on the floor lamp by his bed, staring in shock at Hiei.

"Hiei, what the hell?"

Hiei jerked awake, looking up at Kurama with one open eye. He sat up, grumbling.

"What?" He said softly.

He jerked again, realizing that he was in bed with Kurama, and jumped out of the bed. Kurama covered himself up with his sheet as if he were a woman trying to make herself decent and began to hit Hiei with one of his decorative throw pillows.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in my bed?" He asked, his voice hushed in fear that his mother might hear him. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Hn." Hiei blushed and went to the corner of Kurama's room where his little makeshift bed was. "I must have forgotten where I was for a moment and thought I was back home in bed with . . . her."

"Oh, hell. You've been staying here for a few weeks now and you know I love you as if you were a brother, but you need to go _home_. You need to make up with Shizuru and go home."

"But . . . what can I do?"

"Stop being a little bitch and go to sleep." Kurama mumbled, turning the floor lamp off and laying back down. "We'll think of something in the morning."

"That's not very Martha Stewart of you, Kurama, you'll have to put another quarter in the swear jar!" Hiei sneered, smirking in the direction of his friend's bed.

"Oh, go to hell." Kurama snapped tiredly, rolling over and facing the wall. "I _hate_ Martha Stewart, you douche."

"Oh, one more curse word and you'll have to put in a dollar!"

"Go to _sleep_!" Kurama sat up and violently threw a decorative pillow in the direction of his friend.

Hiei grabbed the pillow right before it hit him in the head. He snickered and curled up into a ball, covering himself with the blanket and going back to sleep.

Sumi walked out of her room, papers in her hands. Shizuru, Kuwabara and Yusuke sat on the couch, watching some movie. Sumi stood in front of the television to get them to pay attention to her.

"Kid, y'know we love ya, but you don't make a very good window." Yusuke said softly, smiling at her.

Kuwabara elbowed his friend in the side as Shizuru chuckled. Sumi marched up to the adults and shoved the papers at her mother, a serious look on her face.

"Mommy," She said softly. "I want to do this."

Shizuru stared at her daughter before skimming over the papers. She handed the paper to Yusuke, who read it then passed it to Kuwabara.

"Wha . . . a beauty pageant?" Kuwabara looked at his niece. "Princess, why would you want to do this?"

"I want to win." She said.

"You guys have let her watch Little Miss Sunshine a little too much." Yusuke smirked, looking from Kuwabara to Shizuru.

"It's her favorite movie, I just didn't think that it would make that big of an impression on her."

"Please, mommy?" Sumi begged, giving her mother wide puppy dog eyes and a pout. "I really, really want to do this."

Shizuru was quiet for a moment, staring at her daughter. She smiled at her and patted her on the head.

"Let the grownups talk for a minute, sweetheart."

"Okay!"

Sumi skipped off to her room, the three on the couch staring after her. Kuwabara turned to his sister.

"Are you seriously gonna let her do it?" He asked. "It's demeaning to women! And have you _seen_ those creep-os that hang around those things?"

"Look at you!" Yusuke taunted. "When did _you_ grow up? It's just some kid thing."

"Kid thing? Did _you_ see that special on VH1 about kid beauty pageants? The parents are _psycho_! They gave their daughters spray tans and fake teeth called 'flippers'!"

"Why the hell where you watching that?"

"I was trying to get to MTV so I could watch _True Life_."

"Kuwabara, what the hell's wrong with you?" Yusuke shook his head. "Besides, it's not your decision. It's your sister's."

The two young men looked at Shizuru who just shrugged.

"If she wants to do it, she wants to do it." She said. "I'm not going to stop her."

"Oh, please!" Kuwabara screeched. "After all that feminist bullcrap you literally _beat_ into my head, about how things like this are sexist and women who parade around in their bikinis in pageants are sad, pathetic little airheads."

"I'm not going to stop my daughter from doing what she wants to."

She set the papers on the table and got up to get a pen. She came back into the living room, another Blow-Pop in her mouth and a pen in her hand. She sat back down and began to fill out the application.

"No offense, guys, I know Sumi's your daughter and niece and she's a sweet kid and all, but . . ." Yusuke said softly. "She's . . . awkward."

"What the hell do you mean by that, Urameshi?" Kuwabara cracked his knuckles.

"I'm just saying that . . . well, let's put it this way; on the outside, she's like Yukina but on the inside, she's like a female _you_." Yusuke said, rubbing his neck as he stared at his big friend.

"What? That's not true!"

"It kind of is." Shizuru said, sighing. "She'd be going up against serious and big competition. She's never done this before; she's a sweet oblivious girl but she's as awkward and clumsy as you, Kazuma."

"Hey, I'm not awkward!" Kuwabara protested. "I grew out of that a long time ago!"

"She's the underdog." Yusuke smirked, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back. "Just like Little Miss Sunshine."

"She can do it!" Kuwabara said triumphantly, jumping up and standing in his 'hero stance' with his hands balled up into fists on his hips and his chest puffed out. "She's a Kuwabara, she can beat all those girls!"

"Well, it's nice to know that you're onboard with this now." Yusuke chuckled.

"I'm still totally against this whole pageant thing, but I just know she's gonna kick their asses." Kuwabara said sternly before going into the kitchen. "Do we still have chocolate milk?"

Yusuke looked at Shizuru, who shrugged again then went back to filling out the rest of the application.

"I don't know if I can get enough money for this all." She said. "I mean, look at this – it all adds up to almost a thousand dollars."

"I can help." Yusuke said, putting an arm around her in a friendly and comforting way. "We all will."

"Yusuke, you don't have that kind of money –"

"You forget that you have tons of friends who care deeply for you and those kids of yours that would be more than happy to pitch in a couple hundred bucks."

"Yusuke –"

"I got about two hundred in my piggybank!" Kuwabara said from the kitchen. "In cash, too."

"No, Kazuma, I'm not gonna let you spend your money on something like this."

"Sumi's my niece, I want her to have it."

Shizuru sighed, holding her head. She gasped, feeling that familiar sickly feeling of vomit bubbling in her stomach and threatening to escape. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. She turned on the sink full blast, keeping her mouth clamped shut. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and released the putrid smelling up-chuck into the porcelain bowl, the sound of the rushing water disguising the sound of the bodily function.

"Oh, how I just missed this." She mumbled to herself sarcastically as she flushed the towel.

She left the bathroom to see Yusuke and Kuwabara staring at her.

"What?"

"What the hell happened?"

"I . . . swallowed a bug." She lied. "It flew right into my mouth and I swallowed it. It made me throw up."

The young men shrugged, believing the terrible lie. Kuwabara went back into the kitchen. Yusuke turned the volume up on the television. She sat back down, her eyes skimming over the rest of the application.

"Where the hell did she get this?" She mumbled.

"Kurama!" Kuwabara said from the kitchen. "Hey, it's Kuwabara. Listen, I gotta ask ya something."

Shizuru looked up in the direction of the kitchen, a confused look on her face. She looked at Yusuke, who was back to watching the movie.

"Is he on the phone?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, he's talkin' to Kurama about the pageant."

"Don't ask your friends for money!" Shizuru shouted towards the kitchen.

Kuwabara stuck his head out of the kitchen, putting the phone to his chest.

"He says it's okay! He _wants _to."

"No, hang up right now." Shizuru stood, snapping her fingers at him.

"No, you can't make me!"

"Don't make me chase after you, Kazuma Kuwabara!" She threatened.

Kuwabara jumped, disappearing into the kitchen again and putting the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah, Kurama, you should come over." He said quickly.

"Should I bring Hiei?" Kurama asked on the other side of the phone. "Or should he stay here?"

"I dunno if it's such a good idea, you better just come over by yourself."

"Give me that phone!" Shizuru shouted, latching onto her brother's back.

"Gah, get offa me, you crazy lady!" Kuwabara yelped. "Quick, Kurama, get over here or my sister's gonna kill me!"

Shizuru snatched the phone from her brother and put it to her ear to hear the dial tone; Kurama had hung up. She hung up the phone and punched her brother in the back of the head.

"Don't beg your friends for money, you idiot! I can come up with the money by myself."

"He said he wanted to!"

Kurama set the phone down and sighed then turned to Hiei, who was sitting on his bed lookin agitated.

"What was that about?"

"I have to go over there." Kurama said, picking up his jacket from the coat hanger by his door. "Something about a beauty pageant."

"Who the hell is entering a beauty pageant? It's not Kuwabara, is it?"

"I couldn't really understand him, his voice sounds so weird over the phone."

"Am I supposed to just stay here?"

"Yes."

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" Hiei snapped.

"Here!" Kurama handed his short friend a pink Game Boy and a small shoebox of games. "It's a Game Boy Color! Play it."

Hiei stared at the Game Boy then at Kurama.

"You worry me." He said.

Kurama just shrugged and left his room. Hiei sighed exasperatedly and flopped down onto the bed, turning on the Game Boy. He fiddled with the game, watching the little overall-clad man jump on the screen. He sighed again then paused the game, getting up and standing in the middle of his friend's room. He looked up at the ceiling and began to spin in a circle. It was something he had had seen his children do before in the living room, laughing happily.

"I'm bored!" Hiei said to himself in a singsong voice. "I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored!"

He stopped and sat down in the swiveling desk chair, his head swimming. He fiddled around on his friend's computer, changing the background from a rose to a morbidly obese naked man. He snickered and logged off the computer. He turned to his friend's radio/CD player and turned it on, halfheartedly flipping through the songs and only listening the first chorus.

_I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world!_

_Don't turn around 'Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking!_

_When you call my name It's like a little prayer! I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there!_

_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? Don't cha? Oh, don't cha?_

He stopped at a song that startled him; it was a strange techno song that didn't seem like the type of music that Kurama would listen to. Hiei blushed slightly at the words of the song the woman was singing, his ears turned pink.

_Fuck the pain away, fuck the pain away, fuck the pain away_

Kurama knocked on the door, hearing arguing and loud music coming from inside the apartment. He wasn't sure if anyone heard him knocking so he knocked again. He wanted a few minutes then tried to the doorknob; the door was unlocked. He shrugged and opened the door.

"She should wear pink!" Kuwabara shouted at Yusuke, waving a pink frilly dress in his hand. "Her hair is black! Pink and black go well together!"

"There will be so many other girls wearing pink!" Yusuke shouted back, waving a mint-green dress. "Not a lot of girls wear green!"

"What's going on?" Kurama asked softly.

Botan, who sat on the couch, bounced up to give him a hug. She smiled at him, clapping happily.

"Sumi's going to enter a beauty pageant."

"Wh . . . why?"

It was all Kurama could think of; the little girl was really sweet and innocent, but so clumsy and awkward at times. She was definitely not the type of girl who entered pageants.

"She said she wanted to win." Shizuru answered, appearing beside Botan. "If she wants to do it, she can."

"But . . . how would Hiei feel about his daughter entering a beauty pageant?"

Kurama flinched as soon as the words left his mouth. He regretted saying it when he saw Shizuru's face fall and tears well up in her eyes. Then suddenly, the tears disappeared and she looked sick.

"Excuse me for a second." She said softly, her words coming out quickly before she ran to the bathroom.

Kurama's widened when he watched her run, a revelation hitting him right in the face. He turned to Botan and gave her a questioning look as he jerked his head towards the bathroom.

"Is she . . .?" He whispered.

Botan nodded and the two of them sighed, turning back to Kuwabara and Yusuke arguing. They weren't paying any attention to the two by the door.

"Don't tell anybody," Botan whispered to Kurama. "But Keiko is, too."

"No!" He whispered back, shocked.

"I'm serious, don't tell _anyone_!"

Sumi pranced out of her room, wearing a frilly orange dress like the dresses that Kuwabara and Yusuke held in their hands, a pink sash wrapped around the middle of it. She twirled into the room, pretending that she was a graceful ballerina. A pink plastic tiara rested perfectly on her head, her black curls spiraling around her face, framing it. She got down on one knee and threw her arms up in the air, a wide smile on her face.

"Ta-da!" She sang before losing her balance and falling over. "Oof."

Kuwabara picked his niece up and kissed her on the cheek. She hugged her uncle's head, giggling. She turned and waved to Kurama.

"Hi, Kurama!" She chirped.

Kurama waved back, smiling. Sumi squirmed and from jumped Kuwabara's arms, landing on her feet like a cat. She ran to Kurama who swooped her up into a hug.

"I'm going to be in a pageant!" She said, triumphantly. "I'm going to win!"

"I know, I heard. I'm so excited for you." Kurama smiled at her, playing with one of her tight raven curls.

"She can't sing, she can't dance." Yusuke mumbled to Kuwabara. "What can she do?"

"Don't worry about it, she's bound to win something." Kuwabara mumbled back. "Even if it's just some kind of runner-up 'thanks for participating' thing."

Haru sat in the corner of the living room, in between the dark green recliner and the couch. He just sat there, watching everybody and going unnoticed. He scooted back until his back was against the wall. He lifted a finger and narrowed his eyes at it, watching a little flicker of a flame appear at his fingertip. He opened his eyes a little, making the flame an inch bigger. He opened his eyes wide, watching as the flame increased then squinted until his eyes were tiny little slits that he could barely see through them, making the flame almost nonexistent.

He had been doing that for a few days when he was alone or when nobody was paying attention to him. He had been doing ever since the day after he set that brat Kiyoshi's shirt on fire. He was starting to control it. He blinked then blew the flame out. He put his finger in his mouth and sucked, trying to make the burning feeling go away. He wondered if his sister could set things on fire like he could. He sighed and thought about his father; he really missed him. He crawled out from his hiding place and stood, looking up at the adults, who seemed to be distracted with Sumi and the pageant she was entering. He didn't get it; it was just some stupid thing where girls dressed up in frilly gross dresses and had wide fake smiles and pranced like they were royalty.

"Can I go play outside?" He asked Shizuru when she came back into the living room, wiping her mouth the back of her hand.

"Sure." She smiled at him. "Don't leave the playground."

He smiled at her and hugged her legs before running to the door. He stopped when he saw Botan and Kurama standing in front of the door. He smiled up at them.

"Excuse me." He said politely.

They smiled down at him and moved out of the way for him. He opened the door and ran out, closing the door behind him. He ran down the stairs and jumped onto a swing at the small playground in the middle of the apartment complex he lived in. He whistled as he swung, a little smile on his face.

Hiei sat on the roof of the apartment building, watching his son whistle on the swing. He sat cross-legged, smiling to himself. He missed his children; he had been gone for a few weeks. He sighed and closed his eyes before flitting off.

Haru leaned back and closed his eyes as he swung. He sat up and opened his eyes when he felt hands on his back, pushing him on the swing. He turned to see Hiei standing behind him, smirking. Haru gasped and jumped off the swing, lunging at Hiei to hug him.

"Dad!" He laughed as Hiei caught him. "You came back, you came back!"

"Just for a few minutes." Hiei said softly. "How's your mother?"

"She's acting weird. Sumi's gonna be in a beauty pageant."

"What?" Hiei's eye twitched; why would his daughter want to do something like that? "Why?"

"I dunno." Haru smiled up at his father. "Are you gonna talk to mom?"

"Not right now, son."

"She misses you."

Hiei was taken aback; he didn't think that Shizuru would miss him like he missed her. He thought she had just moved on after their fight and had replaced him with that man. He sighed.

"You miss her, too?" Haru asked, perching on Hiei's shoulder.

Hiei opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw Botan running towards them. She smiled widely and waved at them. She stopped in front of them, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily.

"Hiei, what're you doing here?"

"He's only staying for a few minutes." Haru said, hopping from Hiei's shoulder. "When're you coming back for good, dad?"

"As soon as he and your mom make up." Botan said, smiling at Haru.

Hiei gave Botan a look that would have made her yelp in fear but this time she seemed unfazed by it. She stuck her tongue out at him, half shrugging. Botan patted Haru on the head and he looked up.

"Your mom told me that she wanted you to come inside now."

Haru looked from Botan to Hiei then sighed. He hugged Hiei's legs tightly before running off to the apartment. The two smiled as they watched the little boy run off. Botan turned to Hiei.

"Are you going to apologize?" She asked.

"Is she?" He asked flatly.

"You two should really talk."

"I've called –"

"No, you had Kurama call for you. Unless you're the one who keeps calling the apartment late at night and hanging up when Shizuru answers."

"Are you living there now?"

"No, Shizuru tells me everything." Botan shrugged again and sighed. "Go talk to her."

"She won't talk to me."

"You're so difficult. Here." Botan handed him a folded pamphlet. "It's the pageant your daughter's entering. You should go."

Hiei stared at the plastic looking girl on the cover, a sparkling tiara on her head, a sash around her shoulder and a bouquet of roses in her arms. He didn't ask where Botan had gotten the pamphlet all of a sudden; he didn't really care. His eyebrows furrowed as he flipped through the pamphlet.

"Why would she want to do this?" He grumbled.

"Nobody really knows," Botan shrugged once more. "She just said she wanted to win."

"I don't understand. She'll make a fool out of herself."

"It's nice to know that you have faith in your children, Hiei." Botan said flatly.

"I do, but she's –"

"Like Kuwabara."

"Yeah."

"I think she can do it. You should go just to support her. Maybe, you and Shizuru could talk when you're there and make up."

"Hn."

"Hiei." Her voice suddenly sounded very serious.

"What?"

"I have to tell you something –"

"Botan!"

The two turned to see Shizuru standing a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest. Botan turned back to look at Hiei, but was surprised to see that he was gone. She ran back to Shizuru.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, so I'm going on a camping trip and I'll be back in five days. Sorry to have to make you wait for Chapter Eight, especially with a kind of sucky chapter seven. I dunno, I might be losing my inspiration or something. Don't worry, I'll finish it and make it really good, you guys! This is chapter's kind of a cliff hanger, I guess. Also, Numb Anime Chick, it _is_ Hiei's.:P I thought that was kind of clear.:P And Eibaru, is 'moe' a good thing?:P I was kind of confused with that.:P Enjoy, you guys!!

* * *

The seven adults stood in the lobby of the hotel that the pageant was being held in. They stared in awe at all the little girls that were made to look older than they actually were; their faces covered in make up and fake adult-like teeth and spray tans. Simultaneously, they all looked down at Sumi, in her pink overalls and purple shirt. She smiled to herself, looking unfazed by her competition.

For six long weeks, Sumi practiced. She had taken dance classes and singing lessons, but it didn't seem to work very well. She was only just a little less clumsy. Still, she was determined; she wanted to win. She wanted that crown.

Shizuru sighed and rubbed her face with her hands then ran them through her hair. She was so tired and was trying hard not to vomit on the disgustingly bright yellow carpeting of the hotel lobby. She glanced at Keiko and could tell that she was feeling the same. She smiled to herself and gulped.

"All right." She said quickly. "Let's go check into our rooms."

Keiko gave a sigh of relief and looked at Shizuru with a small smile on her face as she mouthed the words 'thank you'. Shizuru returned the smile and shrugged as the group entered the elevator. With nine people and their luggage, the elevator was cramped. As the elevator started it's journey to the sixth floor, Shizuru felt her stomach flip-flop. She cupped her hand over her mouth. She glanced over at Keiko to see how she was reacting; Keiko's eyes were clamped shut and she was clenching her teeth.

The doors opened and Shizuru and Keiko were the first ones out of the elevator. Everyone separated and went to their rooms. Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara shared a room at the end of the hall while Shizuru had a room with the twins right by the elevators and Botan, Yukina and Keiko had a room right next to Shizuru's.

Yusuke flopped onto the couch, kicking off his shoes and turning the television on with the small remote. Kuwabara rummaged around in the small refrigerator, giggling as if this were some new luxury.

"They have cookies!" He squealed. "Peanut butter and white chocolate chip and –"

"Shut up." Yusuke mumbled as he flipped the channels. "When you squeal, it's like someone took a cheese grater to my di-"

Kuwabara growled, interrupting his friend, and lunged at him. Yusuke jumped onto the chair just as Kuwabara landed on the couch.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shook his fist at him.

Yusuke laughed and jumped onto his friend. The two kicked and punched at each other, the both of them laughing idiotically. Kurama walked out of the bedroom, scratching the back of his head.

"Uhm, guys?" He said softly. "I think we might have a problem."

The two stopped what they were doing; Kuwabara had Yusuke in a headlock and Yusuke was gnawing his friend's arm. They stared at Kurama, waiting for him to continue.

"There are only two beds in the bedroom and . . ." Kurama moved out of the way to reveal Hiei standing behind him. "We have another roommate."

Kuwabara and Yusuke jumped away from each other.

"What the hell are you doing here, Hiei?" Yusuke asked, smirking as he hung upside down on the couch; his attention returning to the television.

"I'm more worried about the bed situation." Kuwabara stated, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not sharin' a bed with anybody."

"Don't worry, Kuwabara." Yusuke smirked again. "The couch is a pull-out."

"I'm not sleepin' on the couch!" Kuwabara gave his friend a thump on the chest. "I'm too big for it!"

"Suck it up, ya big bitch." Yusuke replied, punching Kuwabara's thigh. "So, Hiei, ya came to support your daughter?"

"Hn."

"I'm not sleeping on the pull-out." Kuwabara repeated. "I _have_ to get one of the beds."

"Too late." Hiei said flatly. "I've already claimed one, Kurama has the other."

"That's balls!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted in unison, glaring at the two demons.

"You're not even supposed to be here!" Yusuke shouted at Hiei, pointing at him. "That's so unfair!"

"Yeah, ya just can't appear outta nowhere and take everything over!"

"This is ridiculous." Hiei rolled his eyes. "You're just going to forget about this in a minute or two."

"No, we won't!" Yusuke and Kuwabara protested in unison.

The room was quiet for a moment, with the exception of the television blaring some rock music video. Kuwabara hit Yusuke in the stomach.

"Let's go explore the hotel."

"Explore? What're you, four?"

"Shuddup, let's go. I'm bored."

"All right."

Yusuke jumped up from the couch and grabbed his jacket then followed Kuwabara out of the room. Kurama and Hiei looked at each other and shrugged.

Keiko crouched in front of the toilet, her arm draped over it. Botan stood in the doorway, watching her.

"Do you need anything?" She asked.

Keiko shook her head and looked up at her friend, hearing a knock at the door. Botan smiled at the short pregnant brunette and left to answer the door. She opened the door to see Yusuke and Kuwabara standing in front of her.

"Hey, is Keiko in here?"

"She's really busy right now, Yusuke." Botan said, raising her voice to cover up the sound of Keiko vomiting.

"Why are you yelling?"

"I'll let her you stopped by!" Botan shouted before she closed the door.

Kuwabara shrugged and went over to the elevators. He turned to see Yusuke still standing at Botan and Keiko's hotel room door, glaring at it.

"Yo, Urameshi!" Yusuke turned around to glare at Kuwabara. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Yusuke grumbled, getting into the elevator with his friend. "I think something's up with Keiko."

"Maybe, she's sick or something."

"What if . . . what if she's seeing somebody else?" Yusuke turned to Kuwabara. "What if she's cheating on me?"

"Listen to yourself, Urameshi, you sound crazy."

"What could be going on with her?"

"She could be sick, like my sister."

Yusuke scrunched his face, looking at his big friend as if he were an idiot. Kuwabara's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"You're sister's pregnant, dipshit." Yusuke said slowly and clearly as if Kuwabara had a hearing problem.

Kuwabara stared at Yusuke for a moment, thinking hard. Yusuke swore that he could see the rusty gears in his friend's head turning slowly as Kuwabara put two and two together. He nodded, suddenly getting it.

"Oh."

Kuwabara's eyes widened and he gasped.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, oh." Yusuke shook his head, chuckling. "God, you're slow."

The elevator doors opened to reveal the lobby. Yusuke stepped out, shoving his hands into his pockets. Kuwabara stood in the elevator a moment, staring with wide eyes at his friend's back as Yusuke walked away.

"Then . . . that means . . ." Kuwabara mumbled, dumbstruck. "Yusuke's gonna be a –"

"Yo!" Yusuke shouted at Kuwabara. "Are you gonna stand in the elevator all day or what? And close your mouth, you look like you need to wear a helmet."

"You're such a dick!" Kuwabara shouted, running after his friend.

People stared as the young men shouting at each other. Yusuke and Kuwabara realized that people were looking at them and stopped fighting and began their exploration of the fancy hotel.

"Dude!" Kuwabara whispered, grabbing a handful of Yusuke's shirt in his hand and pointing a head of them.

"What?"

"Does that little girl look like she's had Botox or is it me?"

"Kids can't have Botox."

"She just . . . look at her!"

"A lot of the little girls here look like that. Now, settle down before ya get us kicked out for staring at the little girls and freakin' 'em out."

"Dude, shut up." Kuwabara quiet for a moment. His face was serious as his eyes darted around the room. "I heard Destiny's Child."

"You're a freak, do you know that?"

"Shut up – it's Independent Women Part 2."

"Dude, you're a super freak."

"No, not Rick James – Destiny's Child."

"Shut up."

"All my independent women throw them hands up at me!"

Yusuke elbowed Kuwabara in the stomach, wanting nothing more than his friend to stop singing. He knew that if Kuwabara began singing, the song would get stuck in Yusuke's head and then he'd be singing it.

Shizuru sighed, watching the twins sleeping on the couch in her room. She smiled then kissed them on the foreheads. Haru stirred and opened an eye.

"Mom?"

Shizuru put a finger to her lips, smiling at her son.

"Sh, go back to sleep." She whispered. "I'm just going next door to talk to Aunt Botan, Yukina, and Keiko."

Haru nodded and closed his eye, snuggling against the arm of the couch. Shizuru glanced once more at her children and made sure that she had her room key then left the room. She knocked at the door and heard running around coming form the inside.

"Go away, Yusuke!" Botan shouted from the other side of the door. "Keiko's busy!"

"I'm not Yusuke." Shizuru said, smiling.

Botan flung the door open a second later then looked around to make sure that nobody was watching them. She turned back to Shizuru and pulled her into the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Careful!" Shizuru warned, laughing. "God, you're like a trapdoor spider."

"Sorry. Yusuke came by earlier, looking for Keiko."

"Let me guess, she was in the bathroom?"

"And still am!" Keiko joked from the bathroom. "This is terrible, I don't even think I ate anything today!"

Shizuru sat down onto the couch next to Yukina, smiling at Botan who smiled back.

"Are you excited?" Botan asked.

"Excited for Sumi? Yeah, but I'm also really nervous."

"Don't make yourself sick over it." Botan joked, winking at Shizuru.

"Oh, ha-ha!" Keiko said sarcastically from the bathroom.

The two heard water running then a minute later, Keiko appeared brushing her teeth and gagging occasionally. Shizuru sympathized with the young woman.

"Do you think she might win?" Botan asked, sitting down next to Shizuru on the couch and being careful not to jostle her.

"I have no idea. She might get a consolation prize or something."

"I have faith in her," Yukina said, smiling. "She's going to do great."

"I agree with Yukina." Keiko said, her mouthful of toothpaste. "She'll definitely win something."

She smiled at the women on the couch then returned to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste and put her toothbrush away.

"Why do I have to stay in here?" Hiei asked, watching Kurama from his spot in the chair as his friend went to the door.

"Do you want Shizuru to see you?" Kurama asked, making sure he had his key. "Nobody wants to see you two fight again . . . am I forgetting anything?"

"Yeah, your purse." Hiei jerked his head towards the brown purse at the desk. "And what makes you so sure that she and I would start fighting?"

"It's _not_ a purse, it's a 'man bag'!" Kurama snapped. "I'm not even leaving the hotel, I don't need it."

"I'm going outside." Hiei grumbled, getting up.

"But –"

"I'm going out the window." Hiei rolled his eyes then went to the bedroom, leaving through the window.

Kurama blinked and left the room to look for Yusuke and Kuwabara. He entered the windowed elevator and smiled to himself when he saw his two friends sitting at a table, talking. The elevator shook a bit when it stopped at the lobby. Kurama stumbled then regained his composure before exiting the elevator.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked up from their conversation to see Kurama walking towards them. They nodded a hello to him as he pulled a chair.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Nothin', just chill." Yusuke shrugged. "Hey, where's your purse? I didn't think you left anywhere without it."

"Yeah, and where's Hiei?"

"It's not a damn purse!" Kurama's face turned slightly pink as he slammed a fist onto the table. "It's a man bag! And Hiei went out."

"Kurama, it's not a bag. It's too small to be a messenger bag. It's a purse."

"You guys are assholes!" Kurama growled before getting up and stomping off towards the elevator to go back to the room.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other and shrugged, going back to their conversation.

"Amy Adams or Amy Winehouse?"

"I wouldn't touch Winehouse with a ten foot pole, Urameshi!"

"Why not?"

"Look at her – she's like a female you."

"Oh, thank you so much." Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I'm serious."

"So, you'd pick Amy Adams?"

"What the hell was the question again?"

Yusuke was quiet for a moment, chewing on the inside of his lip as he thought. A moment later, he shrugged.

"I dunno."

Kurama opened the door to his room and jumped back when he was face to face with a frustrated Hiei.

"Good lord, you scared me." Kurama gasped.

Hiei shoved his hand out to Kurama.

"Quarters." He stated in a low voice. "Give me quarters."

"Why do you need quarters?"

"Just give me some damn quarters!" Hiei snapped.

"All right, all right." Kurama grumbled and picked up his tan man bag.

He took out his wallet and before he could unzip the side pocket, Hiei snatched the wallet from his hands and grabbed all the change in the wallet's side pocket then flitted off, dropping the wallet to the ground. Kurama stood bewildered, wondering where Hiei had gone off to and why he had needed quarters.

Later that night, everyone had met in Shizuru's room and ordered room service. They sat on the couch, the desk or on the floor as they chatted and ate.

"So, you excited about tomorrow, princess?" Kuwabara said, putting an arm around his niece and pulling her closer to him.

"Yup!" Sumi nodded, smiling widely.

"Do you think dad will be there?" Haru asked, looking down at his lap.

Everyone but Sumi looked from Haru to Shizuru. She shrugged.

"I don't think so, sweetheart." Shizuru yawned. "We should go to bed early, we have a very big day tomorrow."

Everyone agreed then, twenty minutes later, dispersed to their rooms. Shizuru tucked her children into bed, kissing them on the foreheads.

"Goodnight, babies." She whispered before climbing into her own bed.

"G'night, mommy!"

"G'night, mom!"

Shizuru smiled to herself before drifting off to sleep.

In the room across the hall, an argument from earlier was continued. Kuwabara had plopped himself onto one of the beds, his arms crossed over his thick chest as he shook his head defiantly. He was acting like a stubborn child.

"Nope, nope, nope!" He said firmly. "I have to have one of the beds, my legs are too long for the couch."

"Kuwabara, stop being a little douche. You're gonna wanna watch TV really late tonight and Kurama goes to bed early. Let Hiei have the bed, unless Hiei's just gonna crawl in with Kurama again."

Hiei glared at Yusuke then at Kurama. Kurama lifted his arms up in a defeated shrug, a half smile on his face.

"You told him?" Hiei growled then turned back to Yusuke. "It was an accident, I thought I was at home with Shizuru."

"D'aw!" Yusuke poked Hiei's face, talking in a cutesy baby-like voice through pursed lips. "Hiei misses Shizuru – d'aw!"

Hiei growled again and swatted at Yusuke, barely missing his friend's face. Something fell from Hiei's pocket, landing on the floor. It bounced twice then rolled to Yusuke's feet. Yusuke looked down in confusion as he bent down to pick up the green object on the floor. He stood, bouncing it in his hand.

"A bouncy ball?" He mumbled, his eyes drifting from the ball to Hiei. "What the hell are you doing with this?"

"I got it from a machine." Hiei said flatly. "You can keep it, I already got what I wanted."

"So, can I have the bed?"

The three had forgotten Kuwabara was still there. They turned to look at him; he stared back with a questioning look on his face.

"No." Hiei stated sternly. "Get the hell off my bed."

"That's not fair!" Kuwabara whined. "I don't want to sleep on the couch."

"Here." Hiei tossed something to Kuwabara. "You can have it if you just shut up and sleep on the couch."

Kuwabara opened the plastic container and gasped, his eyes widening with child-like excitement.

"A sticky hand!" He squealed.

Yusuke flinched then preceded to clean out his ear with his finger. He watched his big best friend giggle like a five-year girl as he played with the red sticky hand. Kuwabara stopped after a moment and looked at Hiei.

"I still want the bed."

"No, I gave you the sticky hand!"

"So, I need the bed!"

"You idiot. I thought we just agreed that –"

"Why do you have to take everything away from me?" Kuwabara shouted at Hiei in a whiny voice. "First you take my sister and then –"

Yusuke whistled, jerking Kuwabara's attention away from Hiei. Kuwabara stared at Yusuke like an obedient dog. Yusuke waved the cookie in the air then tossed it at his friend. Kuwabara jumped up and caught it in his mouth.

"C'mon, Kuwabara." Yusuke taunted, holding another cookie out to his friend. "C'mon."

"I ain't a dog, Urameshi!" Kuwabara grumbled, his eyes glued to the cookie.

He hopped from the bed and followed Yusuke out of the bedroom, his hungry eyes never leaving the large cookie in his friend's hand. Yusuke lured Kuwabara into the hotel room's small living room, resisting the urge to jump his friend and snatch the bag of cookies away from him. He took a step forward towards Yusuke but Yusuke stopped him, a smirk on his face.

"Ah, no!" Yusuke pointed at his friend, his smirk widening. "Sit."

"I ain't a dog, Urameshi!" Kuwabara repeated, raising his voice. "Gimme the cookie and I won't hurt you."

"Sit and I'll give you the cookie."

Kuwabara opened his mouth to speak when Yusuke gave him a look, making him stop. Kuwabara sighed exasperatedly and sat down on the floor, holding his hands up as if her were a dog. Yusuke snickered and tossed the cookie at Kuwabara, who caught it in his mouth again.

"Good dog!" Yusuke joked, reaching out to pet Kuwabara.

"I hate you." Kuwabara mumbled, gnawing on the cookie.

"Whatever!" Yusuke flopped onto the couch, turning the television on with the remote. "Now, move your ass, you St. Bernard Rottweiler Mastiff Sasquatch hybrid."

"Hey, Big Foot's not a dog!"

"Holy crap, a talkin' dog!"

"Shuddup or I'll smother you in your sleep with a pillow!" Kuwabara threatened, jumping onto the couch next to Yusuke. "Y'know, ya can't sleep on the pull-out with me. That's just weird and I don't think there's enough room."

"I wouldn't _want_ to sleep with you, Kuwabara." Yusuke shuddered, sounding disgusted. "That's why _you_ are sleeping on the _floor_."

"What?" Kuwabara shrieked. "After all that crap I just went through with Hiei?"

"Hey, you never really got a final answer on that, man." Yusuke smirked. "You two never came to a decision so I'm takin' the couch, you're takin' the floor."

"Oh, man." Kuwabara grumbled and pouted, fishing out another cookie out of the bag.

Before the cookie could touch his lips, Yusuke took it from him and tossed it into his own mouth. Kuwabara stared in awe, his eyes wide. His eyes narrowed as he shook his fist at his friend.

"You dick! That was my last cookie."

"And it was de-licious!" Yusuke taunted.

Hiei lay in the large bed, staring up at the dark ceiling and letting his thoughts take over. The bed seemed so empty without her laying next to him; so empty, cold and massive. He sighed, pulling the blankets over his head.

"Hiei?" Kurama whispered from his bed. "Are you all right?"

"Just thinking." He whispered back.

"Hiei?" Kurama repeated.

"Hn?"

"Why _did_ you have that bouncy ball and sticky hand in your pockets?"

Hiei was quiet for a moment, thinking. His heart began to pound in his chest as a sick nervousness took him over. He sighed again then rolled over onto his side to face the large window beside him.

"It's a surprise." He said softly. "I also have a small Hello Kitty toy. I was going to give it to Sumi but I think you'd like it more."

Kurama smiled in the darkness and rolled over onto his side, his back towards Hiei.

"Thanks, Hiei."

"Good night."

Yusuke groaned, covering his head with his pillow as he tried to block out the bear-like sound of Kuwabara's snoring. The floor shook when the young man snored. Yusuke groaned again and sat up and hit Kuwabara in the face with his pillow.

"Shut up, Sasquatch!" Yusuke growled.

"I ain't . . . a dog . . . Urameshi." Kuwabara mumbled in his sleep, right before he let out a loud snort.

Yusuke growled and got up, taking his pillow and his key, and left the room. Drowsily, he made his way to the room Botan and Keiko were in. He knocked softly, wondering if they were asleep or up talking like they usually did. He heard hushed voices inside and he nodded, his though of them still awake being confirmed. He paused for a moment, wondering exactly _why_ they were still up. Botan opened the door and blinked at him.

"Yusuke?"

"Hey, is it okay if I crash in here with you and Keiko?"

"No." She yawned. "Sorry."

"Wha – why? Kuwabara's snoring! I'm just gonna stay in bed with Keiko, we won't do anything."

"Go back to your room, Yusuke." Botan said sternly before closing the door in his face.

Yusuke growled and went back to his room, hoping that he would fall asleep as he fell onto the pullout. He flopped back onto the couch, hiding his head under his pillow. Kuwabara's snores had become softer and fainter, but every once and a while he would let out a loud snort.

In the morning, the group had met in Shizuru's room with the exception of Keiko (and Hiei, of course) and had breakfast, as Sumi got ready for the pageant.

Shizuru brushed her daughter's hair gently, pulling her long thick raven curls into two French braids. Sumi smiled at her mother's reflection in the mirror.

"You're beautiful, mommy."

Shizuru smiled and kissed the top of Sumi's head.

"So are you, darling."

Sumi pranced from the bathroom, entering the small living room where everyone was. She twirled in a circle, showing off her orange dress. Everyone smiled at how adorable she looked – like a normal child, unlike the other girls in the pageant – but inside, they all felt the same.

_She's gonna get crushed._

Hiei watched the group go into the large meeting room in the hotel's lobby. He watched as Haru turned around and smiled at him, waving. Hiei gave his son a small wave and followed them into the room. He stood in the back of the room, hidden from everyone. He watched as occasionally one of his friend's would turned their head to the back of the room as they tried to find their seats, knowing he was there but were unable to see him.

Shizuru felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her as she made her way down the walkway to her seat, and she tensed. She turned to see the smiled tanned face of Ataru.

"Hey, stranger." He said softly.

She gasped.

"Ataru, what're you doing here?"

"I'm one of the judges."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I know it's weird but a friend of mine that I work with was supposed to do it but suddenly had to go out of town this weekend. What're you doing here?"

"My daughter's in it."

"Oh, really?"

"Hey, Shizuru!" Botan chirped, appearing at Shizuru's side with Keiko and looking Ataru up and down. "Who is this?"

"I'm Ataru, I'm an . . . old friend of Shizuru's." He said, flashing a smile that made Botan and Keiko melt inside. "Nice to meet you."

Yusuke turned, wondering where Keiko had gone off. His eyes narrowed as her saw his fiancé flirting with some tall unfamiliar man. He turned back to Kuwabara, elbowing his big friend in the side. Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, a confused look on his face.

"She's not cheating on me, huh?" Yusuke sneered. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"No, Yusuke, you don't understand –"

"I understand, all right!" He said, jumping up from his seat. "Some friend _you_ are!"

Hiei saw Shizuru with that man and he growled, his eyes narrowing. He wanted so much to run up and kick the man in the back of the head. He took a step forward but stopped when he saw Yusuke running towards Shizuru, Botan and Keiko and the man. Yusuke grabbed Keiko by her arm, spinning her around.

"Are you cheating on me?" He accused, pointing at Ataru.

"Yusuke, are you insane?"

"Are you? Am I suddenly not good enough for you anymore?" He glared at Keiko then at Ataru. "Who is this guy?"

"Yusuke, you're making a scene!" Keiko warned, her voice low.

"I'll make a scene if I want to!" Yusuke raised his voice; people began to stare at him.

"Yusuke, I am not cheating on you!"

"Then what's going on with you? Why have you been acting so weird?"

"I'm pregnant!"

Yusuke stared at Keiko in shock then turned to glare at Ataru again. He grabbed Ataru by the collar of his shirt, pulling him to him violently.

"You knocked up my fiancé, you douche bag? I'll kill you!"

"Yusuke, get off of him!" Botan pulled him away from Ataru before he could punch him. "You idiot, she's pregnant with _your_ baby!"

Yusuke relaxed a bit, the shocked look still on his face. He looked from Botan to Keiko, who was blushing slightly and trying to avoid eye contact with him. He smiled and swept her off her feet, twirling her.

"We're gonna have a baby!" He stopped and put her down, turning attention back to Ataru. "Sorry, buddy. Who are you?"

"I'm an old friend of Shizuru's."

"Oh."

Yusuke suddenly felt eyes staring at him. He looked around to see almost everyone in the room staring at them. He chuckled nervously and put an arm around Keiko's shoulder, mumbling an apology to the audience. He guided Keiko back to their seats, apologizing frantically to her.

"You're an idiot." Kuwabara mumbled when Yusuke sat back down. He looked at his sister and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Ataru. "That's my sister's ex-boyfriend. Hey – what's he doing here?"

"What?" Yusuke turned back to Ataru. "That guy?"

"Yeah, they dating their senior year in high school and he cheated on her during the summer before he left for college." Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at Ataru. "That creep. I _never_ trusted him."

"Whoa." Yusuke mumbled. "I wonder what Hiei'll do when he sees them together."

"Hiei's here?" Keiko asked, looking around. "Where?"

Yusuke covered her mouth with a hand, shushing her.

"Ya can't let Shizuru know." Yusuke whispered in her ear. "He's gotta surprise."

Hiei had told them that morning before they left to Shizuru's room for breakfast, warning them not to let her know that he was there.

"_I swear, I will kill you if any of you tell her." He had warned._

Keiko nodded and, when Yusuke moved his hand from her mouth, she kissed him. He smiled and held her closer, waiting for the show to start.

"I'm so sorry about my friend." Shizuru smiled apologetically at Ataru. "He doesn't think sometimes."

"Oh, it's all right." Ataru smiled as the lights began to dim. "Oh, I better go. The show's about to start."

Shizuru waved after him then turned to walk back to her seat, Botan next to her.

"Goodness, who was that cutie?" Botan giggled.

"An ex-boyfriend." Shizuru mumbled, sitting down.

Hiei kept his eyes on the tall man he had seen Shizuru with, balling his hands into fists angrily. A man took to the stage in front of the audience, his voice booming into a microphone.

"Hello, everyone!" The man said with a fake smile. "Welcome to the ninth annual –"

Sumi stood backstage, large butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She was Contestant Number Six, she kept staring at the blue six pinned to her chest. Girls who looked confident surrounded her; not one was nervous like she was. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm her down. She opened her eyes, hearing somebody walk towards her. The girl was Contestant Number Seven. She looked Sumi up and down and made a face at her.

"It's time to line up." The girl said snottily.

Sumi turned around as the girls lined up then made their way onto the stage introduce themselves. She smiled widely when she saw her family in the audience, clapping loudly and shouting encouragements at her.

"Go get 'em, girl!" Yusuke shouted.

"Yeah, go Sumi!" Kuwabara whooped. "That's my niece!"

The other parents of the other contestants turned and glared at Sumi's family that took up the whole fourth row. Sumi's family ignored the glares and continued to cheer for Sumi until the girls left the stage. Hiei stood in the back of the room, smiling to himself. His daughter looked so beautiful in the creamy orange dress. He looked around suddenly and realized that there were other men standing by him, staring at the stage. They didn't look like they had daughters in the pageant; they looked creepy. Hiei wanted kill them.

"Fucking creeps." He mumbled before he sat down in a chair in the last row.

The host took to the stage again, microphone in hand and cheesy smile on his face. The hot lights that illuminated the stage made his face flush and sweat drip from his baldhead.

"All right, and now that you've meet those sweet little girls, we're onto the Talent Competition! Here's Contestant Number One with 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'!"

The host left the stage as the small bleached blonde girl took to the stage, dressed like Dorothy from _The Wizard of Oz_. She took the microphone and began to sing.

Sumi paced backstage, biting her lip to keep her from crying. She was supposed to go on and sing 'Tomorrow' from the musical _Annie_. She sang softly to herself, to make sure she had all the words memorized. She sat in a corner of the room, waiting patiently and nervously for her turn. She heard the audience clap for Contestant Number One and she watched as Contest Number Two made her way to the stage, a baton in her hand.

Hiei shoved his hand into his pocket and held onto the plastic container he had gotten from the toy machine. He popped it open with a finger and felt the small circular toy inside, rubbing his thumb against the cool bendable metal. It was much but . . . it was something. He suddenly felt nervous. He hadn't paid any attention to the pageant on the stage until Contest Number Five was called up and he heard several gasps from the fourth row on the left side of the room.

Sumi peered onto the stage, seeing the little girl who was Contestant Number Five on the stage. She was singing 'Tomorrow' from the musical _Annie_.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so I know it's not much and it sucks that I kept you waiting - and I am _so_ sorry about that. I've been really busy (I'm in the process of moving) and I've been hit by Writer's Block, but just for this chapter (I was hit with inspiration for the next chapter and like what I've come up with) so keep an eye open for Chapter Nine. I'll stop blabbing and let you read on! Enjoy and sorry for the wait!

* * *

The meeting room in the lobby of the high-class hotel was dark with the exception of the lights that beat down on the little girl singing on the stage, a cheery look on her face. Kuwabara looked at everyone he shared the row with.

"Can they do that?" He whispered. "Can they seriously have two people singing the same song?"

"I dunno." Shizuru muttered back, her wide eyes never leaving the stage. "God damn it."

Shizuru got up from her seat and snuck around the room to get backstage. She ran up to Sumi and turned her around. Sumi looked up at Shizuru with sad, scared eyes. Her lip quivered violently as tears began to form.

"Baby, don't cry." Shizuru whispered, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Don't cry and don't let this stop you. You can do this, Sumi, you can win this."

"But mommy, she's singing my song!" Sumi whimpered.

"Don't let that get to you, Sumi." Shizuru kissed her daughter on the top of her head. "You've worked so hard, you go out there and do your best."

"Okay."

The mother and daughter heard the audience applauded for Contestant Five then listened to the amplified muffled voice of the host.

"And now, Contestant Number Six - Sumi Kuwahara."

"_Kuwabara_!" Kuwabara shouted angrily from the audience, his hands cupped around his mouth.

The host shielded his eyes from the bright lights above him, keeping himself from going blind as he looked towards where the loud voice came from in the audience.

"That's what I said – _Kuwahara_."

Kuwabara groaned and leaned back into his metal folding chair, sulking with his arms over his chest. The host left the stage, wiping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Sumi looked up at her mother, wiping the tears from her pale face with the back of her hands and sniffling. Shizuru gave her daughter a reassuring smile and kissed her on the forehead.

"You're going to do great." Shizuru whispered quickly. "Go for it, sweetie."

Sumi smiled then nodded, turning away from her mother and walking onto the stage. Shizuru stood, her arms crossed over her chest. She heard the music start and felt like she was going to vomit. No, she _was_ going to vomit. She cupped a hand over her mouth then made her way from the backstage to the nearest bathroom, quickly.

Sumi stood on stage, her wide chocolate brown eyes filled with fear. Her lip quivered as she stared out at the audience that stared back. She stood, frozen in place and staring off.

Keiko shivered and leaned into Yusuke, looking up at him.

"Are you cold?" She whispered. "I just got really cold all of a sudden."

"Yeah, me too . . . it's so weird." He whispered back, zipping his jacket up then putting his arms around Keiko to warm her up.

Kuwabara's teeth began to chatter as he held himself, trying to control himself from shivering. He glanced at Yukina, who didn't seem really fazed by it.

"You okay, babe?" He asked her softly, trying to keep his teeth from chattering and his body from shivering. "It's freezing in here!"

"I'm fine." She smiled at him, shrugging a shoulder cutely.

Kuwabara giggled and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. She smiled at him and rested her head against his shoulder. He smiled to himself and kissed her on the head.

Hiei tried to ignore the every increasing coldness of the room and the murmurs of the audience about the sudden change in temperature, staring right at his daughter. He looked up to see the light bulbs overhead freezing over, becoming encased in thick light blue icicles. He turned back to his daughter then noticed something. His eyes darted towards the empty seat between Botan and Keiko; Shizuru was gone.

Shizuru sat up and wiped her mouth, cursing herself under breath. She flushed the toilet then stood, retrieving a stick of gum out of her pocket and putting it in her mouth. As she was washing her hands, she jerked her head up.

_Something is not right._

The repeated line from the teacher/nun of the famous children's book that had been in her family for years and Kuwabara read to Sumi to make her feel better when she was either sick or sad looped around in Shizuru's head.

"Something is not right." She said softly to her reflection in the mirror. "Something is definitely _not_ right, Miss Clavel."

She ran from the bathroom, heading back to meeting room.

People in the room began to become angry, complaining and shouting about the heater being broken and how someone should fix it as they shivered uncontrollably. The ice-incrusted light bulbs began to pop randomly, startling people in the room. The room began to ice over, giving it the look of an ice cave. Thick long icicles dangled from the ceiling.

"What the hell is going on?" some man shouted from the audience, standing up. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Yeah!" A woman shouted. "Is this some kind of stage act or something?"

People in the audience began to argue and began to not pay any attention to the frozen little girl on the stage. Sumi's fingers twitched and she blinked. She looked around, seeing the icy room. She blinked again in surprise and dropped the microphone. She jumped from the stage and ran from the room, slipping passed Shizuru when she opened the door to enter. Shizuru looked back at Sumi, at first confused as to why she would be running away. She let go of the door and began to chase after Sumi, not knowing that Hiei was close behind and everyone else following after him.

Sumi hid in a corner of the lobby, hidden by a potted tree. Shizuru and Hiei got the potted tree and crouched down to consol their daughter and coax her to come out from behind the tree.

"I ruined everything!" Sumi sobbed into her hands.

"No, you didn't, baby." Shizuru said softly, smoothing her daughter's hair and moving out of the little girl's face. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"It's okay, Sumi." Hiei said, pushing the plant out of the way a little to get a better look at his daughter. "It was just a mistake."

Shizuru blinked and turned her head to face Hiei, realizing he was there. She opened her mouth to speak but Hiei held a hand out to her as if to stop her from doing anything, his eyebrows quirked slightly.

"Let me explain." He said calmly.

Shizuru took a few steps back when Hiei grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him.

"Listen to me." He said sternly, looking deep into her eyes. "I don't do things like this often, I'm trying to . . . apologize."

Shizuru blinked a few times, unbelieving. Hiei licked his dry lips before continuing in a low serious voice, never breaking eye contact.

"I was angry, I saw you with that man and my thoughts got the better of me. I thought that you were sneaking behind my back and being unfaithful."

"_Ataru?_" Shizuru thought. "_Why would he think that – was he spying on me?_"

"I wasn't spying on you. At least, I wasn't trying to. Then I saw you kiss him – that time I guess I was spying on you. I hated being away from you. I missed you. I thought that you moved on quickly –"

"No, Hiei, I –" Shizuru said softly, her voice almost inaudible.

"Let me finish." Hiei stated. "I love you and there's something that you humans do that seems like the type of the right thing to do . . . That sounded as if I didn't want to do to this, but know this – I _want_ to do this and I _need_ to do this."

Hiei let go of Shizuru's wrist and got down on one knee, surprising everyone in the lobby. He reached into his pocket and took out the plastic container he had gotten from the toy machine the day before. He opened it and took out the small adjustable ring, the light green hard plastic heart-shaped 'jewel' catching light. He looked up at her and took her wrist again; slipping the ring onto the only finger it would fit on – the pinky.

"Will you –" He cleared his throat, staring up at her. "Marry me?"

Shizuru stared in shock and before she realized what she was doing, she was nodding frantically and crying hysterically. She helped Hiei up and kissed him while everyone around them clapped. Hiei stopped and pulled away after a moment. He turned to Sumi, who still sat behind the potted tree as she stared up at them. Hiei took the First Prize tiara from the beauty pageant out of his shirt and set it on her head delicately. She smiled up at him and he mirrored her smile. His smile faded and he looked around quickly. He grabbed Shizuru by the hand and jerked his head to elevators.

"We better get the hell out of here before they realize that crown is missing."

The group agreed and followed Hiei and Shizuru and their twins to the elevator. Kuwabara put an arm around Yukina and sighed, smiling to himself.

"Look at us, you guys." He said softly, as if he were thinking hard about it. "We're so grown up! Getting married and starting families and stuff. It's crazy . . . Yusuke and Keiko are gonna have their first kid and Shizuru and Hiei are gonna have their third."

"Third!" Hiei shrieked, whipping around to look at Kuwabara. "What?"

Kuwabara shrugged, muttering about how he wasn't the last one find something out for once. Hiei turned to Shizuru, who crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the elevator doors, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"Are you . . . are you?" Hiei asked, blinking unbelieving.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Jesus, don't you guys know how to use birth control?" Yusuke joked, giving the couple a goofy half smile.

"Don't you?" Shizuru retorted, her eyebrows up and lips pouted as she looked at Yusuke.

Yusuke's smile disappeared and he shut his mouth. Kuwabara laughed.

"Oh, snap!"

Yusuke smiled again, this time at Keiko and put his arms around her and kissing the side of her face.

Genkai sat cross-legged in front of her television, a cigarette at her lips, a cup of tea in one hand and the remote in the other. She was flipping through the channels halfheartedly when something on the news caught her eye. A young newscaster with long bleached blonde hair and a microphone in her hands was standing in front of the hotel that Shizuru had told Genkai that they would be staying at while Sumi participated in the beauty pageant.

She sat still, holding the remote out to the television as if she would change the channel at any minute.

"I'm standing outside the Luxury Hotel where a mysterious incident occurred during a beauty pageant inside the hotel's meeting room yesterday. The room was – and still is – coated completely in two feet of ice. Experts say they have no idea how something like this could happen, especially when the outside temperatures are in the high seventies. The First Prize tiara for the pageant was reported missing several hours afterwards –"

Genkai turned the television off and set the remote down. She sat in silence for a moment, thinking deeply.

"Why doesn't anyone ever invite me to _anything_?" She asked herself a moment later.

She turned to the door, hearing voices outside. The door opened and she saw the smiling faces of the twins as they ran towards her with open arms. She opened her own arms and let them hug her.

"Genkai!" They greeted in unison.

"Hello, children."

"Look what I got, Genkai!" Sumi chirped as she pulled away from the old woman, pointing to the sparkling tiara on her head.

"It's beautiful." Genkai looked up at the adults standing in the doorway. "Did you know that people are looking for that?"

The adults shrugged and proceeded to make themselves at home.

"Hey, guess what, grandma?" Yusuke smirked, putting an arm around Keiko and nuzzling the side of her face. "Keiko's pregnant."

"Congratulations." She answered blandly.

"Now, don't get too excited." Yusuke said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Shizuru and Hiei are havin' another kid, too."

"Jesus Christ." Genkai muttered, getting up. "Doesn't anybody use birth control anymore? What're you going for now, triplets?"

"Maybe." Hiei muttered, shrugging. "Maybe, I want a thousand children."

"Easy there, tiger, I'm not sure my baby-maker can handle something like that." Shizuru joked, putting her arm around him.

* * *

Ha, ha, ha. Can you totally tell I didn't know how to end this?:P


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, so last chapter you guys. I really hoped that you enjoyed this story and I'm pretty sure that I won't write another "Uh, Oh!" so enjoy and savor the two you have now.:D Also, the "Kuwabara/Kuwahara" thing I got from YuYu Hakusho Abridged by Lanipator on Youtube (Go watch all of them RIGHT NOW, you'll love it Haha! Shameless plug!!) So, anyway . . . enjoy!

* * *

Kuwabara tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of his car, his eyebrows furrowed. He was running late for his sister and Hiei's wedding; Eikichi had knocked his alarm off of his bedside table and it had broken when it hit the floor. Yukina had gotten up early that morning to get ready and make breakfast. She had woken him up by pushing him lightly, and asking if he was still going to the wedding. He had rolled over and stared at her for a moment before letting her words register in his mind. He had jumped out of bed and took a quick shower then dressed.

He growled as he stared at the car in front of him.

"Fucking go!" He muttered. "The light is _green_!"

A cool, delicate gentle hand rubbed at the back of his neck, instantly calming him. He turned to look at Yukina, who sat in the passenger seat of the car, and smiled at her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, taking her hand and kissing it. "Just a little frustrated that we're runnin' late."

"Don't worry, we'll make it. They wouldn't start without us."

Kuwabara broke eye contact with her for a moment to look back at the road, still holding onto her hand. He smiled to himself then looked at her again.

"Do you know that I love you?"

"Do you know that I love _you_?"

He pulled her close and kissed her, retrieving a laugh from her. He let go of her and turned the radio up, blaring _Crocodile Rock_. Yukina laughed and clapped.

"I love Elton John!" She exclaimed.

Kuwabara glanced at her, giving her a half smile.

"You're my tiny dancer, babe!"

He tapped on the steering wheel with his fingers as if it were a drum set, singing along and bopping his head from side to side. The two began to dance in the white compact car while they were stopped at a stop sign, ignoring the honking cars behind them.

"Oh, shit!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "The wedding starts in five minutes."

He turned the music down a bit then continued on his way quickly, trying hard not to speed.

Finally, they made it to Genkai's just as the wedding was about to start. The two quickly made their way down the isle then separated, Kuwabara going to the bride's side and Yukina going to the groom's side. Kuwabara stuck his bottom lip out in a pout as he looked back at Yukina. She shrugged as if there was nothing she could do then held her hands up, making a heart. Kuwabara smiled and did the same, blowing a kiss at her through the heart.

"You two are gross." Yusuke grumbled.

Kuwabara turned to his friend sitting next to him and elbowed him in the side.

"Like you never do stuff like that with Keiko."

"I don't, I –"

The Bride's Chorus interrupted Yusuke as it began to play. The attendees all stood, turning to look as Sumi pranced down the isle, tossing different colored rose petals from the wicker basket in her hands.

Hiei stood next to Kurama, his insides burning with nerves. Kurama put a hand on his short friend's shoulder, giving him a reassuring half smile.

"It's all right, Hiei." He said softly. "Calm down."

"Hn."

The two turned to see Keiko and Botan walking down the isle, in their orange silk strapless bride's maid dresses and pink rose bouquets in their hands. Everyone could notice the slight pudge of Keiko's pregnant stomach through her dress. Yusuke's face lit up as his wife (they had married a few months before) walked passed. She gave him a small wave and blew a kiss at him. He caught it and put it on his cheek, blowing a kiss back at her and mouthing 'I love you' at her.

"Yeah, you and Keiko are _nothing_ like me and Yukina." Kuwabara whispered, rolling his eyes.

"Shuddup if ya wanna have kids." Yusuke whispered back.

"Oh, man." Kuwabara whispered, a proud tone in his voice. "Look at my sister."

Shizuru walked down the isle, blushing behind her veil. The wedding dress hugged her body and flared out at her hips. If one looked closely through squinted eyes, they could possibly make out her slight 'baby bump'. She smiled at Hiei when she neared him. He blushed and looked down, a goofy smile on his face.

She stood next to him, wanting to hold his hand.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today . . ."

The priest droned on, lulling the attendees to sleep. Hiei blinked, trying hard to stay awake.

"Do you, Hiei, take Shizuru Kuwabara to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Hiei snapped his head up, blinking once more.

"Hm?" He cleared his throat. "Uhm . . . I do."

"And do you, Shizuru Kuwabara, take Hiei to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"You may kiss the bride."

"Finally!" Hiei exclaimed, tossing the veil from Shizuru's face with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist.

He dipped her low and kissed her deeply, receiving applause and cheers from the wedding attendees.

During the reception, Kuwabara snuck up behind Shizuru and put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze. She turned around and smiled up at her baby brother. The siblings hugged each other tightly, tears in their eyes.

"You look so beautiful!" Kuwabara whispered.

"You clean up pretty good yourself, Kazuma." She whispered back, kissing him on the cheek.

They pulled away from each other a moment later, squeezing the other's hands.

"Have you seen Hiei?" Shizuru asked, breaking their silence. "You'd think he wouldn't want to leave my side."

"I'll go find him."

"Well, hurry, I'm gonna throw the bouquet."

Kuwabara nodded and saluted his sister with a half smile on his face before walking off to find his new brother-in-law. He walked farther and farther away from the reception then stopped suddenly, seeing his tuxedo clad brother-in-law in a tree. Kuwabara stood at the bottom of the tree, looking up at Hiei sitting on a branch deep in thought.

"Hey, Hiei." Kuwabara called up. "C'mere, I wanna talk to ya."

Hiei stared down at Kuwabara hesitantly then jumped down. He looked up at the bigger man, looking eerily calm. Kuwabara rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a soft groan and looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Look, Hiei, I know we've had our differences and we've pretty much hated each other for the longest time . . ." Kuwabara trailed off for a moment, looking down at his feet. "But you're pretty much a good guy."

Hiei stared at the big man, his eyebrows bunching in wonderment. Kuwabara lifted his head and looked into Hiei's eyes.

"I just wanna say outta all the guys my sister's been with – and that's not a lot – I wouldn't of picked a better guy to marry her than you."

The corners of Hiei's mouth twitched and curled up into a smile as he took Kuwabara's hand and shook it. Kuwabara smirked at Hiei and pulled the shorter man into a tight hug. Hiei returned the hug and a minute later, the two jumped away from each other.

"So . . ." Kuwabara rubbed at the back of his neck again, smirking. "Welcome to the family."

Far off the two heard the familiar voice of the shorter man's twin sister shouting.

"I caught it! I caught it!" Yukina screeched happily. "I caught the bouquet!"

Hiei smiled to himself then turned to look at Kuwabara, who was staring off towards the direction of the reception with his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide. Hiei patted him on the back, jerking him from his trance.

"Likewise." Hiei said softly.

Kuwabara smiled widely and hugged Hiei again.

"I could freakin' kiss you!"

"Please don't."

The two laughed and made their way back to the reception, walking side by side. Kuwabara snuck up behind Yukina and put his arms around her in a hug. She giggled and she turned around, waving the bouquet in his face.

"Look what I caught!" She chirped. "You know what that means!"

"Way to go, Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted, patting his friend on the back.

Kuwabara smiled and put his arms around Yukina again, pulling her into a kiss. Hiei put his arm around Shizuru's waist, letting her drape an arm over his shoulder. He rested his head against her, sighing deeply.

"I love you." He said softly.

"I love you, too."

"Okay, guys!" Botan chirped. "Picture time!"

Everyone groaned but let Botan direct them on how to stand for the picture.

"Okay, bride and groom in the middle with the kids on either side of them. Kuwabara, stand next to your sister. Yukina, stand next to Hiei –"

"Excuse me."

Botan turned to see a pale-skinned young woman dressed from head to toe in black (black turtleneck, black pants, black boots, black hair that ended at her earlobes) with a camera hanging around her neck, her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her black boot clad foot against the ground impatiently, with a slight smile on her face.

"Sorry, honey, but I'm a professional and I'm sure you'd rather _be_ in the picture than _take_ it."

Botan giggled and pranced over to Kurama's side. The photographer's eyes drifted to the tall man with the flowing red hair and blushed when she made eye contact with him. She cleared her throat as she set up her camera.

"Okay, everybody smile." She instructed cheerfully before she took the picture.

She stood up and let her gaze drift back to Kurama, who also kept his eyes on her. A pale rose blush displayed across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, uhm . . ." The photographer cleared her throat. "One more good picture and then we'll do a goofy one, okay?"

The group agreed and smiled happily as she took the picture. The photographer stood again, adjusting her camera. She kept glancing at Kurama, who seemed to be staring right at her while the others he was standing with were lost in their own conversations.

"All right, goofy picture!" The photographer clapped her hands together then turned back to her camera. "And one . . . two . . . three!"

Sumi and Haru had began fighting at Hiei and Shizuru's feet, Yusuke stood behind Keiko and grabbed her breasts (making her give the camera a wide-eyed open-mouth surprised look), giving the camera a wide cheeky grin, Botan sneezed and Koenma, who stood next to her and was a huge germ-aphobe, made a disgusted face with his upper lip curled and his teeth clenched, Hiei and Shizuru kissed each other, Genkai gave the camera the finger, Kuwabara put his arm around Yukina and the two flashed the camera peace sign, Atsuko lifted up two half empty wine glasses, Kurama gave a wide cheesy grin and two thumbs up.

The photographer laughed loudly as she took the picture and stood up once more, clapping.

"Beautiful, just beautiful!" she gushed. "Congratulations to the newlyweds."

The group dispersed to get something to drink or snack on, waiting for the cake to be cut. Kurama got himself a glass of wine and sat down at a table, crossing his legs and very aware of the photographer's camera snapping at his direction. He smiled and turned to her.

"There _are_ other guests, you know." He said softly.

She lowered her camera and smiled at him.

"I can't help it, you're just very photogenic." She sat down next to him. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all." Kurama waved the thought away with a flick of his wrist as he took a sip of his wine.

"Did you come here with anyone?" She asked, setting the camera down on the table. "If you don't mind me asking."

"No, as a matter of fact, I didn't." He smiled at her again, holding his hand out to her. "I'm Kurama."

"Riko." She smiled back and shook his hand, moving a strand of her short jet-black hair behind her ear. "Nice to meet you."

"Like wise."

Yusuke and Kuwabara ran up behind Kurama and shook him, pulling him up from his chair.

"C'mon, Kurama!" Yusuke insisted, grabbing his friend by the arm.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Kuwabara said, grabbing his friend's other arm.

"What're you doing?" Kurama asked, flustered. "Can't you two see that I'm in the middle of a conversation?"

"Sorry!" Yusuke flicked his two fingered salute at Riko, grinning. "We'll bring 'im back!"

"Yeah, don't worry." Kuwabara added. "We won't hurt him."

Yusuke and Kuwabara pulled Kurama towards the small white stage that had been set up. Hiei stood on the stage, his arms crossed over his chest and his lips pursed in a strange smile. Kuwabara hopped onto the stage, pulling Kurama and Yusuke with him. He tossed a microphone at Yusuke, who caught it with both hands, then grabbed one for himself. Hiei nudged Kurama in the side, holding a microphone out to his friend, another one in his other hand. Kurama took the microphone and looked at the three, confused.

"What're we – we're not singing, are we?"

"Bingo!" Yusuke joked, imitating Botan.

"But I have a horrible singing voice!" Kurama protested.

"That's not what I heard." Kuwabara said in a singsong voice, glancing at Hiei. "I heard you like to sing stuff from musicals."

"Hiei, you –"

"Enough talk!" Yusuke interrupted Kurama, turning his microphone on. "Let's do this."

Kuwabara stepped forward to the front of the stage, turning his own microphone on with a smile on his face.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!" His voice boomed, amplified from the microphone. "We'd like to do a little song for your listening pleasure."

"So sit back, relax and enjoy this little time warp!" Yusuke chuckled into his microphone.

"We're going back to the '80's!" Hiei added, throwing an arm up in the air.

Kurama blinked a few times as a familiar song began to play. Kuwabara, Yusuke and Hiei bounced around the stage, doing 1980's dances around Kurama. Kurama smiled to himself as he realized what song they were singing.

Kuwabara put the microphone to his lips again and began to sing.

"We're no strangers to love, You know the rules and so do I! A full commitment what I'm thinking of, You wouldn't get this from anything other guy!"

"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling!" Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama joined. "Gotta make you understand!"

"Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you!" The four sang together. "Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"

Yusuke stepped forward, smiling as he sang.

"We've known each other for so long, Your hearts been aching but you're too shy to say it!"

"Inside we both know what's been going on," Hiei sang by himself. "We know the game and we're gonna play it!"

"And if you asking me how I'm feeling, Don't tell me you're too blind to see it!" Kurama finished.

The four pranced around, laughing as they sang the chorus together.

"Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you! Never gonna make you cry, Never gonna make you cry! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"

Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama took a few steps back as Kuwabara took a step forward, doing the Molly Ringwald dance.

"Give you up, give you up!" Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama sang back up, laughing at Kuwabara. "Give you up, give you up!"

"Never gonna give, never gonna give! Never gonna give you up!" Kuwabara sang, imitating Rick Astley. "Never gonna give, never gonna give! Never gonna give you up!"

Botan grabbed Koenma by the hand and dragged him towards the stage, making him blush profusely. She began to dance, laughing as Koenma looked on embarrassed. Shizuru, Keiko and Yukina followed suit, dancing with Botan. Koenma finally joined in, Haru and Sumi tugging on his pant legs and begging him to dance with them.

"We've known each other for so long, Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it! Inside, we both know what's been going on! We know the game and we're gonna play it!"

"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling!" The ever-growing group of dancers in front of the stage sang loudly with the four singers on the stage. "Gotta make you understand!"

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you! Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"

As the song ended, the four on the stage turned off their microphones and threw them over their shoulders as if they had suddenly become unimportant to the singers.

Kuwabara slung an arm over Hiei's shoulders as the four of them walked off stage.

"You're pretty bad ass, Hiei."

"Yeah, so are you."

* * *

Haha, Rickrolled! I hope you enjoyed this, you guys! Thanks so much for the reviews and a super big special thanks to my loverly beta, My blue rose. Thanks, you guy!


	10. Epilogue

Okay, so I lied! :D Here's an epilogue, you guys! And seriously, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing "Uh, Oh!" and "Uh, Oh! 2: Electric Boolagoo", I really appreciate it and I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed it. And a huge thanks to My blue rose for being my beta reader for this - thanks, you're a huge help! Enjoy, you guys!:D

* * *

Genkai sat on the plush couch in her home, watching her big screen television. It was a birthday present – an early birthday present to herself. She smiled to herself and wondered where all the time went; it had just flown by. It seemed that only yesterday that she was babysitting for Hiei and Shizuru five-year-old twins when nobody else could, being the only thing closest to a grandmother they ever had. She sighed deeply and changed the channel.

The door behind her opened and she smiled to herself, hearing the two familiar voices calling her name.

"Genkai!" Haru and Sumi said in unison as they ran to her.

She jumped from the couch and smiled at the fifteen-year-old twins running towards her, her arms open in a hug. Haru got to her first and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, scooping her up off of her feet.

"Careful, Haru!" Sumi chided worriedly. "You'll break her, she's not as young as she used to be!"

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" Genkai asked the fifteen-year-old girl when Haru put her down.

"Sorry, Genkai." Sumi gave a half shrug as she scratched at the back of her head, a friendly smile on her face. "My turn!"

Sumi lifted the short old woman up in a hug, squeezing softly.

"Careful, Sumi." Haru mocked, a playful smirk on his face. "You'll break her!"

"Oh, ha-ha!" Sumi stuck her tongue out at her twin brother as she set the old woman down.

Sumi turned to the open door and ran towards it, sticking her head out.

"Kuya!" She called out to the ten-year-old boy chasing after a butterfly in front of Genkai's home. "Come say hello to Grandma Genkai."

Kuya shrugged and pulled a leaf from his copper flame-shaped hair, a souvenir from a tree he had climbed earlier. He ran passed his sister to Genkai, giving her a big hug.

"You're getting so big." Genkai said softly, looking the ten year old up and down. "You'll probably get as big as your uncle."

Kuya chuckled, flashing Genkai Kazuma Kuwabara's signature goofy smile. If Kuwabara and Hiei had a child, it would have been Kuya.

"Thankth, Genkai." He lisped, blushing.

Hiei and Shizuru walked in, smiling at their children and Genkai. Hiei nodded a 'hello' at Genkai, which she returned to him. Shizuru gave Genkai a big hug, kissing the old woman's wrinkled cheek.

"Hello, darling." Genkai said to Shizuru, hugging her back. "How're you?"

"Pretty good." Shizuru said, standing back up and flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder. "Worried about you living out here all by yourself."

"Oh, hush." Genkai waved the thought away with the flick of her hand. "I can take care of myself, I'm not that old."

"Yeah, you're totally ancient!"

Genkai and the family of five turned to the open door to see Yusuke, smiling widely at them, Keiko at his side with a chubby-cheeked baby boy on her hip. A ten-year-old girl, who looked exactly like Keiko with Yusuke's hair color, stood on Yusuke's other side, looking embarrassed.

"Dad, don't be rude!" The girl jokingly chided, pushing him lightly.

Yusuke put his arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. He ruffled her hair, retrieving a laugh from his daughter.

"Grandma knows I'm just playin', Kako." Yusuke smirked. "God, these kids grew up so fast."

"Jesus, I feel old." Genkai mumbled, waving Yusuke and his family over. "Well, come in. Don't just stand in the doorway. Make yourselves at home."

The Urameshi entered the room, Yusuke kicking the door closed with the back of his foot.

Haru and Kuya flopped onto the couch and began fighting over the remote, insulting each other through gritted teeth.

"Let go, you stupid haired hippopotamuth!" Kuya lisped at his older brother.

"You have the same hair, you red-haired hedgehog!" Haru shot back, snatching the remote from his little brother.

"I had it firtht!" Kuya whined, reaching for it.

"Too bad, I'm older!" Haru chuckled, pushing his brother away.

"Yoink!" Sumi exclaimed, taking the remote from her brother's hand. "Now, I've got it!"

The flame-shaped haired brother groaned as their sister changed the channel to _Lifetime_. She hopped over the couch and forced her way in between them. Kako left her father's side and sat down next to Kuya, taking his hand in hers.

"Hey, watch it!" Yusuke warned Kuya as he stood behind the couch with his arms folded on the back of it, his joking smirk on his face.

Kuya yanked his hand from Kako and blushed furiously. Kako turned to her father, giving him a look.

"Dad!" She whined.

"I'm just playin'!" Yusuke chuckled. "You must have your mother's sense of humor."

Keiko grabbed Yusuke by the ear and dragged him away from the couch to a matching loveseat across from it. The two sat down and Keiko handed the chubby-cheeked baby boy to Yusuke.

"Hey, take your son." She kissed the baby on the cheek. "He's heavy, my arms are getting tired."

"Oh, don't say that, Keiko, you'll hurt Yota's feelings." Yusuke replied, poking one of his son's pudgy cheeks. "Look at that face! He's gonna grow up to be just like his dad! Yes, he is!"

"So, he's gonna grow up to be an cocky a-hole?" Kuwabara asked, sticking his head through the door with that big goofy smile on his face.

"Kuwabara, if I didn't have this baby in my arms, I'd get up and kick your ass." Yusuke joked, holding his son.

"Yeah, likewise!" Kuwabara chuckled, kicking the door open all the way with the toe of his shoe.

He adjusted the copper haired six months old in his arms, smiling proudly down at her. Shizuru walked briskly to her brother's side, looking down at her little niece.

"Hello, sweet baby!" She cooed, running a finger gently across the baby girl's cheek. "Sweet, sweet Koyuki."

"Excuse me, Kazuma." Yukina said from behind Kuwabara as she tried to scoot by. "Precious cargo coming through."

Kuwabara looked back at his wife, the proud smile never leaving his face.

"You mean you or the baby?" He asked, moving out of the way for her.

She smiled up at him, laughing and adjusting the copper-haired baby girl's twin aqua-haired brother in her arms.

"Of course, I was talking about Yuki." She kissed the top of the boy's head, straddling him on her hip.

Kuwabara held his daughter in one arm, putting his free arm around Yukina's shoulders and pulling her close to kiss her. Hiei's eyes twitched; even though he and Kuwabara were friends and Kuwabara and Yukina had been married for two years, his feelings for the two of them being together were still iffy. He smiled when the little boy in his sister's arms looked at him, reaching out his tiny hand out to him.

"Come here, you." Hiei said, taking his nephew from his sister's arms.

"I hope you guys brought a playpen or something." Yusuke said, bouncing Yota on his lap.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Kuwabara said, giving his daughter to his sister. "It's in the van."

"You need any help?" Yusuke asked, giving Yota to Keiko.

"Yeah, sure."

Yusuke got up and followed Kuwabara out to his van just as Botan bounced in, dragging Koenma (teenaged form, of course) in by the wrist.

"Hello, everybody!" She chirped, greeting everyone. "Oh, a baby!"

She cooed and gushed over Koyuki in Shizuru's arms, talking in baby talk through pursed lips.

"What, no kids for you two?" Genkai asked, putting a cigarette to her lips, as she looked Botan and Koenma up and down.

"Good Lord, no!" Koenma exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "The last thing Botan needs is a baby. I don't have time for children."

"Besides, Koenma's all the baby I need!" Botan hugged Koenma from behind, making him blush.

"Gah! Get off me, woman!" He begged as she tightened her grip on him, laughing.

"Oh, hush! You know you love it!"

"Goodness, what's going on in here?" Riko asked, walking in.

Everyone greeted Kurama's girlfriend as she took off her black jacket.

"Good afternoon, everyone." She hugged Genkai, kissing the old woman on the forehead and handing her a small box in blue wrapping paper. "Happy birthday, Genkai."

"Thank you, Riko." Genkai smiled at her. "Where's Kurama?"

"Helping Yusuke and Kuwabara with the playpen." She shrugged, jerking a thumb towards the door. "They're having a little trouble with it."

"Fuck you, you stupid –" Yusuke screamed from outside.

"Say that again, Urameshi, and I'm gonna kick your fruity little –"

"Hey, settle down, you two! You're going to –" Kurama said, trying to calm Yusuke and Kuwabara down.

"Don't drop it, you idiot!" Yusuke shouted.

"Gimme that look, will you?" Kuwabara growled.

"That's it!" Kurama groaned. "Forget this! You two are on your own!"

Kurama stomped into the room, his perfect eyebrows bunching in frustration.

"Those two haven't change since they were fourteen!" He mumbled. "Oh, babies!"

Kurama took a step towards Hiei, who now sat next to Keiko on the loveseat, and tried to poke Yuki in the face. Hiei moved the baby away from Kurama, giving him a look.

"Get your own baby, Kurama."

"Ha-ha, I don't think so." Riko said flatly. "Not ready for that yet."

Kuwabara burst into the room, grumbling about Yusuke' being an idiot, then set up the playpen in the corner of the room. Yusuke carried a pink cake box in, grinning stupidly as he opened it.

"Happy birthday to you!" He sang loudly and off-key. "Happy birthday to you!"

Kuwabara yanked off his shoe and threw it at his best friend's head. Yusuke took a step back, dodging it. He glared at Kuwabara and shoved the cake at Genkai then lunged at Kuwabara, who yelped like a frightened Pomeranian and ran.

"Watch out, you idiots!" Hiei shouted.

"Knock it off, Kazuma!" Shizuru yelled, grabbing her baby brother by the ear. "How old are you?"

"You know it's rude to ask a lady her age, Shizuru." Yusuke winked, retrieving a growl from Kuwabara.

"Okay, let's try this again." Riko said as she put the candles on the cake and lit them.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang to Genkai, making her blush slightly. "Happy birthday dear Genkai, happy birthday to you!"

"Yay!" Yusuke cheered. "Way to go on being two thousand and ninety-one, grandma!"

Genkai turned around and punched Yusuke in the stomach, making him lurch forward. Kuwabara snickered and Yusuke swung a punch at him, thus beginning another ridiculous fight between the two.

Shizuru sat down next her husband, holding her niece in her arms. Hiei smiled down at the baby boy in his arms then looked up at Shizuru, that smile never leaving his face. Shizuru sensed him looking at her and turned towards him.

"No." She sat sternly. "No way."

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Hiei smirked, leaning towards her.

"Yes, I do – and the answer is _no_."

"Oh, come on."

"We're not rabbits, Hiei."

"But look at their tiny faces – doesn't it make you just want another one?"

"They're not pets or toys, Hiei, the answer is still no."

"Please?" Hiei attempted to give Shizuru large puppy-dog eyes, his bottom lip protruding in a pout.

Shizuru laughed out loud, covering her mouth with her hand; the look he was giving her was hilarious.

"I'll think about it." She said after a moment.

"Please say 'yes'." Yusuke said, forcing himself in between them and putting his arms around the back of the couch. "Maybe that way we can get another sequel."

"Yay sequels!" Everyone shouted in unison.

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Ha, ha, ha! Thanks again, you guys!:D


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